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i THE STORY OF 


INDIANA 


AND ITS PEOPLE 

i 
1 


BY 

ROBERT JUDSON ALEY, Ph.D. 

1) 


MAX ALEY, A.B. 


^ 


mm 


K 


CHICAGO 


O. P. BARNES. PUBLISHER 



■A32 



Copyright, 1912 
By O. p. Barnes 

Published October, 1912 



CCI.A32()592 



PREFACE 

THIS book has not been prepared with a view of add- 
ing new knowledge, or to settle disputed points. Its 
purpose is to furnish the young people of Indiana 
with an accurate story of the settlement and growth of the 
state. 

Every one should have a just pride in his own state. 
He needs it in order that he may be the right sort of a citi- 
zen. State pride is the necessary background for national 
pride and patriotism. No pride is lasting unless it is based 
upon understanding. It is hoped that this Story of Indiana 
will furnish the knowledge to Hoosier boys and girls that 
will make them justly proud of their great state, and inspire 
them to noble and patriotic efforts in her behalf. 

Sept., 1912. R. J. Aley and Max Aley. 



,•. ..... ... 


t. 




INDIANA 




Though many laud Italia's cUme, 






And call Helvetia's land sublime, 






Tell Gallia's praise in prose and rhyme, 






And worship old Hispania; 






The winds of Heaven never fanned, 






The circling sunlight never spanned. 






The borders of a better land 




• 


Than our own Indiana. 


• 






1 







INDIANA BOUNDARIES 

The first session of the Fourteenth Congress passed the 
following Act relating to the boundaries of the state: 

''The said state shall consist of all the territory included 
within the following boundaries, to- wit: Bounded on the 
east by the meridian line which forms the western boundary 
of the State of Ohio; on the south by the river Ohio from 
the mouth of the Great Miami River to the mouth of the 
river Wabash; on the west by a line drawn along the middle 
of the Wabash from its mouth to a point where a due north 
line drawn from the town of Vincennes would last touch 
the northwestern shore of the said river; and from thence 
by a due north line, until the same shall intersect an east 
and west line drawn through a point 10 miles north of the 
southern extreme of Lake Michigan; on the north by the 
said east and west line until the same shall intersect the 
first-mentioned meridian line which forms the western 
boundary of the State of Ohio." 

By a previous act the western boundary of Ohio had 
been fixed at the meridian line drawn through the mouth 
of the Great Miami River. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Chapter 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 
VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 

XV 
XVI 

XVII 

XVIII 

XIX 

XX 

XXI 



Page 

The Indians 15 

French Explorers and Missionaries . . 28 
Early Settlements. The French and 

English in Indiana 37 

The Conquest of the Northwest Ter- 
ritory 44 

Frontier History 55 

The Northwest Territory and the Ordi- 
nance OF 1787 64 

Indian Wars and Treaties 74 

Indiana Territory 83 

The Battle of Tippecanoe. The War 

OF 1812 95 

Slavery in Indiana 106^ 

Indiana Becomes a State 116 

Pioneer Life 128 

Early Schools 148 

The State Capital Moved to Indianap- 
olis 160 

The National Road 173 

Era of Internal Improvements and the 

Mexican War 181 

The Constitutional Convention of 1850. 

Government of Indiana 188 

Indiana Schools 196 

Indiana During the Civil War. Part I 225 

Indiana During the Civil War. Part 1 1 236 

Indiana During the Civil War. Part III 253 
11 



12 TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter Pago 

XXII Material Growth 262 

XXIII Indiana Politically 269 

XXIV The Hoosier in Literature 277 

Appendix: 

I List of Governors 285 

II List of U. S. Senators 286 

III Indiana Counties 287 

IV Constitution of Indiana 289 

Index 315 



MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
MAPS 

Page 

Portages Between the Great Lakes and the Miss- 
issippi River 42 

Land Claims of the Thirteen Original States. . 65 

Plan Proposed by Jefferson 68 

Division of the Northwest Territory by Ordi- 
nance OF 1787 72 

Sources of Settlers in the Northwest Territory 81 

Indiana in 1817 151 

Map of Morgan's Raid 249 

County Map of Indiana 279 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Tecumseh's Trail Near Lafayette Frontispiece 

Found in Indian Mounds 19 

Home Life of the Indian 23 

Taking Possession for France 30 

Monument on Site of Fort Ouiatanon 38 

George Rogers Clark 45 

British Recapture Vincennes 49 

Clark's March to Vincennes 51 

William Henry Harrison 84 

First Capitol of Indiana, Vincennes 87 

Harrison Mansion, Vincennes 91 

Tippecanoe Monument 97 

Pigeon Roost Monument 101 

A Blockhouse 104 

Jonathan Jennings 112 

Old State Capitol, Corydon 117 

Thomas Posey 118 

Old Constitutional Elm 121 

13 



14 ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Old Capitol Hotel, Corydon 125 

Building a Log Cabin 128 

An Old Time Fireplace 131 

Coming to Indiana 132 

Traveling by Wagon 133 

A Half-Faced Camp 135 

A Homemade Bed 137 

An Early Grain Mill 139 

A Pioneer Hunter 141 

Spinning Wheel and Reel 143 

Fanning Away the Chaff 145 

Where Lincoln Attended School 149 

Caleb Mills 156 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Indianapolis . . 165 

State Capitol Building, Erected 1832 168 

Type of Schools That is Disappearing 197 

An Indiana Township High School 199 

Type of School That is Appearing 201 

Library, State University 203 

Auditorium, Purdue University 207 

State Normal School, Terre Haute 211 

A Modern Indiana High School 215 

Studying Soil Formation in a Consolidated 

School 219 

Chapel, Boys' School, Plainfield 223 

Statue of Morton, Indianapolis 227 

Lincoln Tablet on Claypool Hotel, Indianapolis 231 
Building Used as Prison by Morgan, Corydon.. 243 
Old Church Used as Hospital by Morgan, Cory- 
don 247 

Present State Capitol 263 

An Indiana Stone Quarry 267 

Thomas A. Hendricks Monument, Indianapolis.. 271 
Schuyler Colfax Monument, Indianapolis 275 



THE 8T()RY OF INDIANA 



CHAPTER I 

THE INDIANS 

Origin of the Name ''Indian." When Columbus dis- 
covered America he beheved he had reached the East Indies, 
and so he called the natives of the New World Indians. 
These natives were spread over the entire continent, and 
were quite numerous at the time of the first exploratioi^s. 
They were not a civilized people and had not advanced far 
enough to keep a written record of their own history, so 
we do not know whence they came nor how long they had 
been living in North America. Later, when exploring par- 
ties passed into the interior of the new continent, they found 
great earth-works, or mounds, which they concluded were 
the work of a previous race of people, whom, because of 
what they had left behind them, the white men named 
Mound-builders. 

The Mound-builders. These Mound-builders were the 
first inhabitants of the territory now forming the state 
of Indiana. It is commonly beheved that the Mound- 
builders were a great and civilized people who disappeared 
from the country long before the coming of the white man. 
Those who first studied the mounds wrote a great deal 
about the Mound-builders that had no actual basis in fact, 
and so we find many books dealing with the subject in a 
most fanciful and imaginative manner. As a result of 

15 



16 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

careful study, it is now l)elievecl that the Mound-builders 
were not such an ancic^nt nor such a civilized race as form- 
erly supposed, and that they were the direct ancestors of 
the Indians found her(^ by the white m(ni. 

Accounts of Early Explorers. In the accounts of the 
early Spanish explorers, we read of Indians in the South 
who were living in towns surrounded by earthen walls, 
and having the houses of the chief men built on high, arti- 
ficial mounds. This would indicate that these Indians 
were either Mound-builders, or that they utilized mounds 
already in existence. 

Use of Mounds by Indians. From the time of these 
early Spaniards down to the beginning of the nineteenth 
century, reference after reference is made by different 
writers to mound-building. It is certain that the Indians 
often built burial mounds, and sometimes buried their 
dead in graves dug in the sides of the old mounds. Fur- 
thermore, they had a superstitious awe of these mounds, 
and greatly resented their desecration by the whites when 
they were first opened for the purpose of investigation. 
A number of instances are on record where Indians pointed 
out mounds which they claimed to have built. In 1778, 
George Rogers Clark was informed by the chief of the 
Kaskaskias that his tribe had built the Cahokia mounds 
(in Illinois), some generations back. 

The Mounds. The mounds themselves, by their 
size and numbers, show that great labor was expended 
upon them. The Cahokia mound in Illinois is seven hun- 
dred feet long, five hundred feet wide, and ninety feet high. 
The building of such a mound with modern machinery 
would be no easy task. What then must have been the 
time and labor required by the Mound-builders who 
worked with the rudest sort of tools! Remains of forti- 
fications are foimd in several places in Indiana. A noted 



THE INDIANS 17 

one of these is a few miles above Jeffersonville. It occupies 
a well selected position between the Ohio River and Four- 
teen Mile Creek. The space enclosed by artificial and 
natural stone walls is an oblong containing more than 
seventeen acres. Another interesting fortification is found 
near Merom, in Sullivan County, and is known as Fort 
Azatlan. It is of irregular shape, and about twelve hun- 
dred feet long. Several mounds are found in Knox County, 
near Vincennes. 

Life of the Mound-building Indians. The Mound- 
builders, or the Indians at the time they were engaged in 
mound-building — whichever the case may be — lived a 
more settled life than did the red men whom the early 
whites found in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. Their 
villages were permanent, and they engaged in agriculture 
to an extent unknown among the Indians of later date. 
They were expert in the making of pottery, and also prac- 
ticed the art of weaving. Their life was settled and not 
nomadic, as was that of the Indians in the Ohio valley 
at the time of its settlement by the whites. 

Coming of Herds of Buffalo. Those who believe that 
the Indians built the mounds, explain that they ceased 
doing so when the great herds of buffalo came and made 
quiet village life impossible. Their coming turned the 
attention of the Indians from agriculture to hunting. We 
know that the great herds did come, and we know that 
they must have caused much destruction in the Indian 
fields of corn, but whether this is an adequate explana- 
tion, the reader must decide for himself. 

The Indians. The region now included within the 
state of Indiana was, at the time of its discovery by Euro- 
peans, in the possession of the Miami confederacy of 
Indians. In this confederacy were the Weas, Pianka- 
shaws, Peorias, Twightwees, and Kaskaskias. They were 



18 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

divided into tribes according to kinship, and were governed 
by a chief, or a number of chiefs, for each tribe. Those 
in Indiana hved along the Wabash River and its tributa- 
ries, in small, temporary villages. The confederacy, how- 
ever, covered the states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and 
part of Ohio. If the Miamis followed a previous race, we 
have no means of knowing at what time nor from whence 
they came. Little Turtle, greatest of the Miami chiefs, 
said that his fathers had occupied the country from 
''time immemorial." 

Manner of Life. These Indians lived in rude huts 
made of logs, or in wigwams covered with skins, bark, or 
a kind of matting which the women wove out of flags. 
During the fall, winter, and part of the spring, the Indians 
were scattered in the woods hunting. In the spring they 
gathered at the village sites, near which they had fields 
where they planted corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, mel- 
ons, and tobacco. They stored up but little of the food 
raised in the summer, and through the winter hved chiefly 
on what the hunters killed. 

Weapons. Before the coming of the whites, the Indians 
hunted with weapons of their own make. Every war- 
rior had a spear and bow and arrows, the latter pointed 
with heads of flint. He also had a stone hatchet, or 
tomahawk, and a war club which was made by enclosing a 
large stone in rawhide and fastening this to a handle. The 
Indians possessed great skill in making all of these weap- 
ons, as may be seen at the present time by looking over 
a collection of Indian relics. The barbed points for 
arrow and spear heads were chipped out from pieces of 
flint by using another sharpened stone to do the work. 
They are beautifully shaped and are often very sharp. 
The tomahawks were large hatchet-shaped stones with 
a depression about the center to hold the thongs which 



THE INDIANS 21 

fastened the stone to the handle. Sometimes the stones 
were put into a split sapling and allowed to grow fast. 
This method fastened the tomahawk very securely to the 
handle. 

Mode of Travel. The Indians travelled by water 
whenever they could. The canoes which they made were 
of logs burned out and smoothed, or of birch bark sewed 
together with strong fibers from tree roots. The Indians 
knew the water-ways perfectly, though they had no maps, 
and by short portages could go almost anywhere by 
water. Of course, at that time the rivers and creeks 
had more water in them than they have now, for the for- 
ests which held the moisture had not been cut away. 
The water-ways were the highways, and over them at all 
seasons of the year passed the swift, light canoes. 

Dress. The dress of the Indians was made of skins 
embroidered with beads and shells, and variously orna- 
mented with the teeth and claws of animals and the 
feathers of birds. The women were usually fully clothed, 
but the men wore little clothing, tattooing and painting 
the exposed parts of their bodies. 

Family Life and Rearing of Children. Among them- 
selves, in the tribe and family, the Indians were a simple 
race, and seem to have been affectionate and kindly dis- 
posed. Sentiment, however, had little place among them. 
The children, particularly, were treated in a manner some- 
thing like that of the old Spartans. The infant child, 
or papoose, was bound to a board to make him grow 
straight, and was not allowed to cry or make a disturbance. 
The whole rearing of the Indian was calculated to fit him 
to endure the greatest hardships. He bathed in cold 
water, and frequently fasted an entire day. He made 
long journeys on foot, ran long distances, and lived his 
life in the open. His body was scantily clothed even in 



22 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

winter, while in summer he usually wore no clothing at 
all. V/hen a boy was about eighteen, he was taken to 
a solitary place where he fasted from five to eight days, 
after which a feast was given by his father to celebrate 
the son's entrance into manhood. 

Marriage Customs. After having thus formally 
become a man, the Indian boy married. Usually the 
marriage was arranged between the father of the boy 
and the father of the girl. The boy's father held a fam- 
ily council, and if his choice of a wife for his son was 
agreeable to all the relatives, presents were taken to the 
girl's father, the proposal made, and the relatives of the 
girl given time to consult and decide about the match. 
If the latter agreed, they collected presents, dressed the 
girl in her best clothes, and took her to the wigwam of 
the young man's father, where she and her dowry were 
left. This was considered sufficient, and no further 
marriage ceremony was necessary. If, however, the 
relatives of the girl, or she herself, did not approve the 
match, the presents given by the young man's relatives 
were returned, and accepted by them in token of refusal. 

Indian Housekeeping. After the wedding, the young 
couple set up housekeeping in a new wigwam, usually 
presented by the young man's father. Housekeeping, 
however, was very simple. The wigwam contained no 
furniture, only skins spread on the ground, and a hole in 
the center of the room where the fire was kept burning. 
No washing had to be done, for the clothing was of buck- 
skin, and a garment was worn until it became ragged, 
when the squaw made a new one. The cooking was 
simple. The squaw pounded corn in a stone mortar 
until it was made into meal. This was baked in fiat 
cakes, and served as bread. Meat was boiled with corn, 
or beans. Deer, bear, and buffalo meat were the kinds 



THE INDIANS 



23 



most frequently used by the Indians, but on special occa- 
sions they roasted a dog whole, and considered its meat 
a great delicacy. The Indian brave provided all the 
game and did the fighting, while the squaAv looked after 




HOME LIFE OF THE INDIAN 



the wigwam and the children, raised the corn, beans and 
other vegetables, dressed the skins of animals and pre- 
pared their meat for food. 

Indian Traits. Like all early and savage tribes, the 
Indians were bloodthirsty and cruel in war, burning 
their captives at the stake after prolonged torture, and 
sometimes keeping out a few choice victims for a canni- 
bal feast. But to their friends the Indians were gener- 
ous and kind. Many of the early settlers who were hon- 
est and fair in their dealings with the red men were 
befriended l)y them in time of need, saved from mas- 



24 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

sacre by strange and hostile Indians, or helped through 
the first winter with gifts of food. 

Indian Religious Beliefs. Indian religion was very 
much like that of all savage peoples. The red men 
believed in a Great Spirit, but also in a host of lesser 
spirits — one for everything in nature. All evil things 
were the result of an evil spirit. Disease was caused 
by the presence of an evil spirit in the person afflicted, 
and to cure the disease the medicine man made all sorts 
of noises to frighten the evil spirit away. Instead of 
rest and quiet, the sick Indian found himself tortured 
by noise, the medicine man dancing about him disguised 
in a hideous mask, shaking rattles, screeching, and howl- 
ing. All these spirits, both good and bad, had to be pro- 
pitiated. The best way to do this was by feasts and 
dances. Hence these apparent pleasures were to the 
Indian sacred religious rites. 

Dances. The dances were held in the council house, 
which was the most important structure in each village. 
An early missionary who came to Indiana in 1801, says, 
in describing some Indian towns on the Wabash: 'Tn 
each of these towns there was a council house, about forty 
feet in length and twenty feet in breadth, where they 
usually celebrated their sacrificial feasts and dances. 
These houses were built of split wood piled up betwixt 
posts set in the ground, covered with a roof made of laths 
and the bark of trees, and having an entrance at either 
end; but there was neither floor nor ceiling; three fire- 
places stood in a straight line from end to end, with large 
kettles suspended over them in which a mess of Indian 
corn and meat, boiled together, was prepared for the 
guests to eat after the dance was over. Platforms one 
foot high and five feet wide were raised all along the 
sides of the house, and were covered first with bark and 



THE INDIANS 25 

then long grass on top of that, to serve as couches for the 
guests to sit or recHne upon while smoking their pipes 
and witnessing the dancing of the others. These dances 
were invariably got up in the night, and sometimes con- 
tinued for weeks together. The whole was concluded 
by a sacrificial feast, for which the men had to furnish 
the venison and bear's meat, and the women the corn 
bread; and everything had to be prepared in the coun- 
cil house before all feasted together amid the observance 
of certain rites." 

Games. The Indians had as great a fondness for 
games as have the children of our own race. They 
played many different ones, but football seems to have 
been the favorite, for the whole village could take part 
according to the Indian manner of playing the game. 
It was quite common for the squaws to play the braves. 
In this case rules were made giving the women certain 
advantages; for instance, the men could use only their 
feet, while the women could use both hands and feet in 
the effort to get the ball through the goal posts. The 
two contending parties arranged themselves in the cen- 
ter of the field, the men on one side, the women on the 
other, each party facing the goal of their opponents. The 
ball was usually brought on the field by the chief, who 
threw it up between the two opposing teams. The 
side which succeeded in driving the ball through the 
stakes at the goal of their adversaries was proclaimed 
victor, and received whatever prize had been determined 
upon before the game began. We are told that it was 
no uncommon thing for the squaws to come off victorious. 

The Game of Straws. This seems to have been a 
favorite game. Father Charlevoix in one of his narra- 
tives says: ''This day the Pottawatomies were come to 
play the game of straws with the Miamis. The game 



26 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

was played in the chief's cabin and on the open ground 
before it. The straws used are Httle twigs of the bigness 
of a wheat stalk, and no more than two inches long. They 
take a bunch of these, generally containing a hundred 
and one straws, but always an odd number. After giv- 
ing them a good mixing up, with many contortions of 
their bodies and many invocations of their favorite genii, 
the whole are divided into packets of ten, with a sort of 
awl or pointed bone. Every one takes his packet at 
hazard, and the one who gets the eleven straws gains a 
certain number of points. Sixty or eighty play the game 
at a time." 

Burial Customs. When an Indian died he believed 
that his spirit would go to the ''Happy Hunting Ground" — 
a place of eternal happiness, similar to, but much better 
than this world. If the dead man had been an evil doer, 
he went to a place of torment and punishment. The 
body was preserved with great care, for the Indians 
believed that this must be done to insure the happiness 
of the spirit of the dead. Near every Indian village was 
a cemetery. These cemeteries were of various kinds 
according to the customs of the particular tribe or vil- 
lage. Some laid the dead body on top of the earth and 
made a crib or pen over it with logs, which were then 
covered with bark; others dug graves as the white peo- 
ple do, and covered the body with bark before covering 
it with earth; some made coffins of strong boards, plac- 
ing the corpse in this and hanging it up in the top of a 
tree. Much of the property of the dead man was buried 
with him. Food and tobacco were kept on his grave 
to supply him with nourishment on his way to the ''Happy 
Hunting Ground." At the funeral all the nearest rela- 
tions blacked their faces, and fasted for a certain time 
afterwards, the length of which was determined by the 



THE INDIANS 27 

head of the family. The funeral procession was elabo- 
rate. First came the body, then the relatives and clos- 
est friends, and after them the whole village, the women 
singing a wailing chant which was a lamentation for the 
dead. 

Number of Indians. The number of Indians within 
the boundaries of Indiana at the time of its discovery 
by Europeans is not known. They were not very numer- 
ous, perhaps a few thousand at best. This number steadily 
grew less with the constant warfare, the destroying effects 
of new diseases which were contracted from the whites, 
and the physical and moral degeneration which the white 
man's '^fire water" produced upon the Indians. 



CHAPTER II 

FRENCH EXPLORERS AND MISSIONARIES 

England, France, and Spain. Three great nations 
contended for the possession of the New World after its 
discovery by Columbus. These were the English, the 
French, and the Spanish. Spain was the first to colonize. 
The scene of her activities was in the South — in Florida, 
Louisiana, Mexico and Central America. England planted 
her first permanent colony at Jamestown, Virginia. France 
went farther north and made settlements along the St. 
Lawrence River. The object of each nation was to gain 
a foothold in the new land. The colonists themselves 
expected to find gold and silver, and to gain wealth by the 
exchange of cheap articles of European manufacture for 
the valuable furs and other commodities which the Indians 
had to offer. 

French Traders. The French, along the St. Lawrence, 
followed the Great Lakes and the rivers of the Northwest, 
finally working their way down into the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi valleys. There were two routes through Indiana 
used very frequently by the early traders. One route 
was up the Maumee River from Lake Erie to a point near 
the present site of Fort Wayne, and then by an easy por- 
tage they reached the Wabash and went down that to the 
Ohio, and then on to the Mississippi. The other route 
was up the St. Joseph from Lake Michigan to near the 
present site of South Bend, and then by a short portage 
to the Kankakee, which by way of the Illinois reached the 
Mississippi. Along these portages many knives, beads 



FRENCH EXPLORERS AND MISSIONARIES 29 

and trinkets of sevonteonth-century French make have 
been found. At first they did not establish trading posts 
in this region, but came through in canoes, bartering 
trinkets, blankets, and "fire water" for furs. We do not 
know at what date these wandering traders first came 
down the Wabash and other Indiana streams. It was 
sometime in the latter half of the seventeenth century, 
probably about 1660. 

La Salle's First Expedition. Robert CaveUer, Sieur 
de la Salle, the famous French explorer, is the first white 
man of whose visit to Indiana we have record. His object 
was to reach the Mississippi River, which he believed 
emptied into the Pacific Ocean, thus giving a short and 
easy route to China and Japan. He went down the Ohio 
in 1669-70, pro])ably passing along the entire southern 
boundary of the state. With La Salle was a party of 
twenty or thirty men, hardy woodsmen and traders in 
whose faithfulness he thought he could rely. Unfortu- 
nately his trust was misplaced. Becoming weary of the 
hardships of the journey, the entire party deserted their 
leader in the night, making- thetr way to the settlements 
in New Holland and New England. The brave La Salle, 
alone, and without food other than that he begged from 
friendly Indians or shot in the forest, retraced his steps 
and finally reached the French settlements in Canada. 

Second Expedition. Undaunted by the hardships and 
misfortunes of his first expedition. La Salle made a second 
attempt in 1671. He followed the Great Lakes to the 
southern extremity of Lake Michigan and crossed the 
northwest corner of the state, passing down the Kankakee 
and Des Plaines Rivers. He was again unsuccessful in 
reaching the Mississippi. 

From the time of these early expeditions of La Salle 
to his expedition of 1679, there are no recorded explora- 



30 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



tions of Indiana, yet it is very certain that fur traders 
were meanwhile going down its streams in their canoes, 
and missionary fathers were raising the cross and cele- 
brating mass in the wilderness. 




TAKING POSSESSION FOR FRANCE 



Mission Fathers. It was probably about 1670 that 
the first mission fathers came into Indiana. To venture 
into this region meant hardship and danger; but to them 
hardship was nothing, danger was nothing; to rear the 



FRENCH EXPLORERS AND MISSIONARIES 31 

cross and carry the Christian faith to the Indians was 
their end, and many wilhngly sacrificed their fives in 
gaining it. What the hardships of these early mission- 
aries were we can gather in some measure from their writ- 
ings, though few of these records have come down to us; 
the greater part of what they endured we have to guess 
from a knowledge of the conditions of the time. The 
country was a trackless wilderness, and the only mode of 
travel was by canoe, or on foot. No explorations had 
been made; there were no maps; so the word of the Indian 
must be taken as the only guide. Too many times the 
Indian proved false. But the priests met hardship and 
even death with a brave smile and a courage truly heroic. 

The Indians and Christianity. The efforts of the mis- 
sionaries in Christianizing the Indians w^ere at first very 
poorly repaid. The Indians listened courteously to an 
explanation of the Christian faith, and then expected the 
white men to listen with equal forbearance to an expla- 
nation of their own savage beliefs. Naturally the priests 
failed in an appreciation of the Indian religion, which 
offended the Indians and made the missionary efforts 
doubly hard. One early writer tells us that Indian eti- 
quette regarded a discussion of the future life as very bad 
form, and indulged in only by ''fools and white men." 
Despite the difficulties, the early mission fathers achieved 
remarkable results. The form and ceremony of the church 
appealed to the savages, and great numbers of them were 
converted, outwardly, at least. Wherever an early trad- 
ing post was found, there too was a mission, and there 
the solemnities of the mass were celebrated in rude l)ut 
genuine manner. 

Marquette. Jacques Marquette was one of the earliest 
of these devoted and heroic priests. He was also one of 
the most successful, for he learned six of the difficult 



32 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Indian dialects and sought to present the Christian relig- 
ion to the Indians in such manner that they could easily 
grasp it. 

Joliet. From the Indians Marquette heard of the Mis- 
sissippi, and was fired with the desire to see that mighty 
stream and preach the Christian faith to the savages 
along its banks. Fortune favored the worthy priest, for 
an explorer, Louis Joliet by name, was soon to set out for 
the Mississippi, and, as was the custom of the French, 
wished to find a priest to accompany his party. Joliet 
was a woodsman, rough and resourceful, who understood 
the difficulties of travel through forest and by stream and 
knew how to conquer them. 

The Explorers Set Out. Marquette was glad to make 
one of the little party, and so, on May 17, 1673, he and 
Joliet, together with five companions, set out from St. 
Ignace in two canoes. They paddled south and west 
along the shore of Lake Michigan and entered Green Bay. 
Lake Winnebago was reached through the Fox River, and 
on its shores the party found a village of the Mascoutin 
Indians. These Indians had been visited previously by 
a French missionary, and Marquette's heart was glad- 
dened by the sight of the cross raised in a prominent place 
in their village. These Indians were friendly and well- 
disposed and furnished Joliet' s party with guides to lead 
them to the Wisconsin River. 

On the Wisconsin River. They reached the Wiscon- 
sin and embarked upon it, though they were ignorant of 
where it would take them. But Joliet was an explorer 
with the true spirit of his kind. He dared the unknown 
and blazed the way for those who were to come later. As 
for the priest, he seems never to have suffered fear of dan- 
ger or hardship. Though weak in body, he was a giant 
in spiritual strength. 



FRENCH EXPLORERS AND MISSIONARIES 33 

Life of the Explorers. The hfe of the exploring party 
was a rough, hard one, but doubtless it had its pleasures 
too. All day they floated in their canoes, and, when night 
came drew into shore and made camp. For food they 
had buffalo meat, or venison, and corn prepared in some 
of the numerous Indian ways. They slept beneath the 
stars, a blazing fire in their midst to frighten away the 
wild animals and warm the sleepers against the chill of 
the night mist. By daylight the party were up, and by 
the time the sun had melted the mist away, were floating 
down stream again. 

On the Mississippi. On June 17 they reached the 
mouth of the Wisconsin and floated into the channel of 
the Mississippi, 'Tather of Waters." On either side of 
the river rose beautiful wooded hills. Buffalo, deer, wild 
fowl and other game were plentiful, and the river abounded 
in fish. It was literally an uninhabited paradise, for no 
Indian villages were to be found in this region, and very 
few of the red men even hunted there. The canoes 
drifted a great distance down the river without the explor- 
ers discovering any signs of inhabitants along the shores. 
They had been warned that the Indians would be hostile, 
so were constantly on guard, anchoring the canoes out in 
the stream so as to be ready for instant flight, and keep- 
ing a sentinel always on guard. 

Illinois Indians. Finally they came in sight of an 
Indian village, and Marquette and Joliet decided to visit it, 
leaving the remainder of the party to guard the canoes 
and supplies. The two Frenchmen were kindly received. 
The Indians proved to be of the Illinois tribe and spoke a 
language Marquette was able to understand, and, in some 
degree, to speak himself. He addressed the men of the 
village and was in turn tendered a speech full of high- 
flown compliments from the chief of the tribe. A feast of 



34 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

corn mush, fish, dog meat, and buffalo meat followed. The 
two Frenchmen managed all but the dog meat very credit- 
ably, but that they could not eat, a circumstance which 
the Indians failed to understand, for to them it was the 
greatest delicacy. 

Painted Rocks. The party, continued their way down 
stream meeting with various experiences. After they had 
passed the mouth of the Illinois River they reached the 
^'monsters" that the Indians further north had told them 
were to be found along the river. These ' 'monsters" 
were nothing more dangerous than painted rocks. Mar- 
quette says in describing them: ''Upon the flat face of a 
high rock were painted in red, black and green, two mon- 
sters, each as large as a calf, with horns like a deer, red 
eyes, and a beard like a tiger's, and a frightful expression 
of countenance. The face is something like that of a man, 
the body covered with scales; and the tail so long that it 
passes entirely around the body, over the head and between 
t-he legs, ending like that of a fish." 

Arkansas Indians. Marquette and Joliet finally 
reached a village of the Arkansas nation where they 
were kindly received, but urged not to go farther, as the 
Indians to the south were very hostile. Fear of the 
Spaniards, too, had some influence in keeping them back, 
for the Spanish Indian traders and explorers of the period 
were more to be feared than hostile Indians. Spain at 
this time claimed the land along the Gulf, and engaged 
in trade with many of the tribes of southern Indiana. 

The Explorers Turn Back. The party was convinced 
of one thing: that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf 
of Mexico, not into the Pacific Ocean, nor the Gulf of Cali- 
fornia, as had been formerly supposed. Having reached 
this conclusion, they determined to turn back, for they 
knew not what perils lay to the south among the hostile 



FRENCH EXPLORERS AND MISSIONARIES 35 

tribes of Indians. They were still seven hundred miles 
from the mouth of the river, though they thought them- 
selves much nearer. 

The Return Journey. The journey up the Mississippi 
was long and laborious. The canoes no longer drifted 
with the current. Now every mile had to be gained at 
the expense of hard and continuous paddling. To add 
to their discomforts, it was mid-summer and very hot. 
The shore on either side was swampy and unhealthy. 
Marquette, unable to stand the hardship, became ill. 
But the party had to toil on just the same, struggling 
slowly northward, mile by mile. 

End of the Journey. They reached the mouth of the 
Illinois at last, and from there proceeded northward to 
Lake Michigan, by way of the Chicago and Des Plaines 
Rivers. They reached the mission of Green Bay in Sep- 
tember. 

Death of Father Marquette. Father Marquette lived 
but a year longer. He made one more missionary jour- 
ney among the Indians and won many of them to his 
faith. On the return journey to Lake Michigan, the 
strength of the good man failed him and he died before 
the Green Bay mission could be reached. He was buried 
in the wilderness, but later his bones were removed by 
the Indians he had Christianized, and brought to St. 
Ignace, where they were buried beneath the floor of the 
little chapel. 

La Salle's Last Exploration. Meanwhile La Salle con- 
tinued to explore the country, holding fast to his great 
purpose despite many misfortunes. In the year 1680 he 
reached the point where Peoria, Illinois, now stands. He 
built a fort at this point, naming it Creve Coeur, which 
in English means ''Broken Heart." Two years later he 
reached the Mississippi River, and travelling down that 



36 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

great stream, finally gained the mouth. On April 9, 1682, 
he took possession of the country in the name of Louis 
XIV, King of France. On a later expedition in 1687, 
La Salle was treacherously murdered by his followers. 
He was a great explorer, and a brave and noble man. He 
blazed the trail for the settlers to follow, and did much 
to make possible the opening up and development of the 
Northwest and the Mississippi valley in the century fol- 
lowing. 



CHAPTER III 

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. THE FRENCH AND 
ENGLISH IN INDIANA 

Dates of Early Settlements Difficult to Determine. 

The date of the founding of the earUest settlement in 
Indiana is much disputed and cannot be definitely deter- 
mined. In the early days no records were kept, so that 
we have no evidence of that sort to help us. We have to 
accept the word of early writers and historians and such 
evidence as is found in the letters of explorers and 
travelers. 

The Wabash Route. After La Salle's exploration the 
French planned a chain of forts, which they hoped to 
extend along the entire route from Quebec to Louisiana. 
This route followed the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, 
the Niagara River, Lake Erie, the Maumee River, the 
portage from the' Maumee to the Wabash River, the 
Wabash River to the Ohio and the Mississippi to the Gulf 
of Mexico. 

French Forts. Three of the forts were built in Indi- 
ana, but of the dates of these we are not certain. On 
the Wabash River, four miles southwest of the present 
city of LaFayette, Fort Ouiatanon was erected. Post 
du Ouabache was farther down the river and stood where 
the city of Vincennes is now located. The name was 
changed to Post Vincennes about 1760, in honor of the 
first commandant, Francis Morgan de Vincennes. The 
other post, Fort Miamis, stood on the site of the present 
city of Fort Wayne. 

37 



38 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



Vincennes. Post du Ouabache, or Vincennes, was estab- 
lished as a fort probably in 1727. It has been claimed 
that it had existed as a trading post since 1702, but this 
claim is not very well founded. Seventeen hundred and 
two is the date now claimed by the city, nevertheless, 
and a tablet bearing that date adorns the Knox County 
courthouse. Though many bits of evidence point to the 




MONUMENT ON SITE OF FORT OUIATANON 



establishment of the fort in 1727, recent investigations by 
the Indiana Historical Society give reason to believe that 
the date was four years later — 1731. The settlement was 
well established four years after that date, for we know 
that by 1735 several French families had settled at the 
post and it had become the first permanent European 
village within the borders of, Indiana. 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS 39 

Ouiatanon. Fort Ouiatanon was established about 
1720. In the year 1719 the Commandant at Detroit, 
M. de Vaudreuil, commissioned a young officer named 
Dubuisson to take command of Fort Ouiatanon. The 
impression gained from the commission is that the fort 
was not then established, and that Dubuisson was to 
establish and take charge of it. It is possible that a 
trading post had existed here for some time, and that the 
establishment of the fort was brought about through the 
demand of the traders for protection of their interests. 
However that may be, it seems pretty certain that Dubu- 
isson established the military post in the summer of the 
year following the receipt of the commission. That 
places the date of the establishment as 1720, and makes 
the post probably the oldest in the state. It was not a 
permanent settlement, however, as was Vincennes. It 
consisted of a stockade surrounding a few cabins, all traces 
of which have long since disappeared. 

Fort Miamis. The date of Fort Miamis is not 
known, though some historians have placed it between 
the years 1713 and 1718, and claim that it was the 
first fort within the borders of Indiana. The fact 
that it is near Detroit might give some reason to believe 
that it was established before the other forts. But there 
is no evidence to give us any definite date for its 
establishment, and we must be satisfied to say that it 
was established sometime near the date of the fort at 
Ouiatanon. It should not be confused with Fort Miami 
built by La Salle at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, 
on Lake Michigan. 

Government of Forts. Post Vincennes, from the date 
of its establishment to the close of the French occupa- 
tion, was included in the District of Illinois, of the Prov- 
ince of Louisiana. The two other forts, Post Ouiatanon 



40 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

and Fort Miamis, were part of Canada, and under the 
Commandant at Detroit. 

Death of Vincennes. St. Ange Takes Command. In 
the year 1736 Vincennes, first commandant of the post 
that later came to bear his name, lost his life in a fight 
with a party of Indians at the mouth of the Ohio. We 
are told that he died bravely, and ' 'ceased not until his 
last breath to exhort his men to behave worthy of their 
religion." Vincennes was succeeded at the post by Louis 
St. Ange, whose command lasted through the remainder 
of the French rule. Under him the little village had 
nearly thirty years of peace and prosperity. 

The British. Meanw^hile England was casting envious 
eyes at the rich country in the Ohio and Mississippi val- 
leys. Its fur trade was then the best on the whole conti- 
nent, and its fertile lands offered opportunity for colo- 
nization. With true British pluck and daring, England 
began to treat with the Indians, and invade French terri- 
tory with trade and settlement. The English claimed a 
large section of the country as belonging to the early colo- 
nies of Virginia and Massachusetts, and in spite of French 
occupation, they proceeded to exercise some of the rights 
of possession. A company called the Ohio Company was 
organized under royal charter from King George II, who 
granted it a half million acres of land lying on or near the 
Ohio River, and gave to its representatives the exclusive 
privilege of trading with the Indians. 

The French Become Active. The French were very 
angry. The Governor General of Canada sent a com- 
pany of men under Captain Louis Celleron to explore 
the country between Detroit and the Alleghany Moun- 
tains. Celleron took possession of this territory in the 
name of Louis XV, and notified the Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania to keep hands off. 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS 41 

"The French and Indian War." In 1754 the French 
were engaged in building a fort at the junction of the 
Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, where the city of 
Pittsburgh now stands. Much alarmed, the governor 
of Virginia sent George Washington, then a young lieu- 
tenant, with some two hundred men to stop the building 
of this fort. They were repulsed by the French and forced 
to return home. But war with the French was on, and 
it continued for almost eight years. 

Ouiatanon and Miamis Come Under British Rule. We 
are not concerned here with the details of the 'Trench 
and Indian War," as it is called. The next thing that 
interests us is the surrender of Montreal to the British 
in 1760. With that surrender the forts at Ouiatanon and 
Miamis came under British rule. Vincennes, being a 
part of Louisiana, remained French. 

Pontiac^s War. The next three years were years of 
disturbance and unrest for the whole Northwest Terri- 
toritory. The French were eager to regain the lost sec- 
tion, and the Indians chafed under the rule of the English, 
who managed them with far less understanding than the 
French had done. Headed by Pontiac, the Indians made 
war against the English. Fort Miamis was treacherously 
captured and the garrison held prisoners. Detroit was 
besieged, and the entire territory was in a state of tur- 
moil. In 1763 a treaty was signed between the French 
and English by which the French king gave up all title 
to lands east of the Mississippi, barring the city of New 
Orleans, and a small territory adjacent. This treaty of 
course included Vincennes, and the forts in Illinois. It 
was impossible for the English to take possession of 
any of these posts, for the Indians continued hostile, 
and occupied the attention of the few troops in the 
region. 



42 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



Pontiac Makes Peace. Meanwhile, St. Ange was 
ordered by his superior to remove to Fort Chartres and 




PORTAGES BETWEEN THE GREAT LAKES AND THE MISSISSIPPI 

RIVER 

take command there. He obeyed this order and left 
Vincennes in the hands of a subordinate. Pontiac sought 
St. Ange's aid against the English, but that brave com- 
mander told him that the French and English were ''now 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS 43 

as one nation." Failing likewise to get French aid from New 
Orleans, Pontiac finally, in 1765, met the English in council 
at Fort Ouiatanon and announced that the French were 
no longer his friends; that he would no longer war against 
the English and desired to makepeace. This treaty which 
was ratified at Detroit was kept for many years. 

English Take Possession of Northwest. In October 
of 1765, St. Ange formally delivered Fort Chartres to the 
English, and the territory, including Indiana, passed under 
the English crown. The country was left practically 
alone for nearly ten years. In 1772, General Gage, then 
commander-in-chief of all the British forces in America, 
ordered all persons who had settled west of the Alleghany 
Mountains to quit their homes, and join some of the 
English colonies to the East. The French settlers in 
Indiana protested, and the matter finally came to the 
attention of Parliament. In 1774, an act was passed 
securing the civil and religious rights of all the French 
inhabitants on English soil in America. The inhabitants 
of Vincennes, many of them children of the original colo- 
nists, were greatly relieved, and settled down once more 
to the enjoyment of quiet village life. 

Abbott at Vincennes. In 1777, Lieutenant Governor 
Abbott arrived at Vincennes from Detroit, bringing with 
him an escort of Canadian soldiers. He found the vil- 
lage in rather a deplorable condition. He took command 
of the fort and did his best to get the little colony reestab- 
lished according to some idea of civic order. He endeared 
himself very greatly to the people by his kindness and his 
efforts to improve their village. The people greatly 
regretted his departure, which occured a few months 
later. Meanwhile the American Revolution had begun. 
Indiana was at first untouched by the great conflict, but 
later it played an important part. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTHWEST 
TERRITORY 

George Rogers Clark, the "Hannibal of the West." 

French Are Loyal to Great Britain. The act of Par- 
liament which gave to the French their old civil and relig- 
ious rights was passed, so the American colonists asserted, 
as a means of gaining the French to the English side, and 
to prevent their joining the rebellious colonies further 
south. At any rate, the act had the effect of making the 
newly acquired French colonists in Canada and elsewhere 
loyal supporters of the British throughout the war of 
Independence. 

Indians. Between the French and Indians there had 
always been close sympathy and clear understanding. 
Largely through French influence, therefore, the Indians 
engaged in war, and fought on the British side. They 
were supplied Avith British guns and ammunition, and 
encouraged by presents of trinkets and fire-water. The 
instructions to one of the British officers read: ''It is the 
King's command that you should direct Lieutenant 
Governor Hamilton to assemble as many of the Indians 
of his district as he conveniently can, and placing a proper 
person at their head, to conduct their parties, and restrain 
them from committing violence on the well-affected, inof- 
fensive inhabitants, employ them in making a diversion 
and exciting an alarm on the frontiers of Virginia and 
Pennsylvania." Furthermore, a premium was offered for 
the scalps of Americans. 

44 



CONQUEST OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY 4,5 

Frontiersmen Retaliate on Indians. Angered t^eyond 
reason by the awful deeds of violcnice committed by the 
Indians, the frontiersmen sought retaUation with almost 
equal violence. The Indians that fell into their hands were 
murdered, a circumstance which made matters much 
worse by turning certain friendly Indians away from the 
American to the British side. 

George Rogers Clark. The frontier needed a leader— 
a man who could stop these depredations, and gain the 




GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
(From a portrait owned by the Vincennes University) 

great tract of fertile land comprised in the Northwest 
Territory for the future United States. George Rogers 
Clark, a young Virginia surveyor, and a man of the stuff 



46 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

that heroes and leaders are made of, was that man. He 
settled in Kentucky in 1776. Largely through his efforts, 
Kentucky became a county of Virginia, and the execu- 
tive council of that state was brought to contribute pow- 
der and funds for defense against the Indians. 

Clark's Plans. Clark realized that the only way to 
stop the Indian atrocities was to capture the chain of 
British forts. Kaskaskia, Vincennes and Detroit were the 
points where the Indians received their arms and ammuni- 
tion and were paid their bounties for scalps. Through 
spies, Clark gained evidence of the truth of all this, and 
learned in addition that the settlers at these posts — French 
and others — though supporting the British at that time, 
were not unfriendly to the Americans or the American 
cause. With this information, Clark went before Gov- 
ernor Patrick Henry of Virginia, and presented his plan 
for the conquest of the Northwest. So earnest was he, 
and so well did he present his case, that the Governor 
and council were convinced of the necessity of action. On 
January 2, 1778, Patrick Henry issued two sets of instruc- 
tions to young Clark — one public, one private. The pub- 
lic instructions authorized him to raise seven companies 
of fifty men each for militia service in Kentucky; the pri- 
vate instructions authorized him to use these men to 
strike at the British posts of the Northwest. Raising the 
companies was no easy matter; enemies worked against 
the young commander, and even his friends did not help 
him. Had it been made public that the enlisted men 
were really to move against the British posts in the 
Northwest, the whole matter would have fallen through 
then and there. At last, about a hundred and fifty men 
were enlisted, and Clark started with them for Kentucky. 
He went northward until he reached a branch of the Ohio, 
and then made the remainder of the journey by boat. At 



CONQUEST OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY 47 

the mouth of the Kentucky River he was joined by a few 
more men, and the entire party continued down the Ohio 
to the falls, where they landed on Corn Island and built a 
block house for the protection of supplies and for the safety 
of some settlers who had made the journey with the sol- 
diers. 

March on Kaskaskia. When Clark read his private 
instructions to the men there was much discontent and 
ill-feeling. Quite a number deserted and made their way 
back home. With strict discipline Clark whipped his 
little army into shape and proceeded toward Kaskaskia. 
He wrote later: ^'I knew that my case was desperate, but 
the more I reflected on my weakness, the more I was pleased 
with the enterprise." 

Kaskaskia and Vincennes Taken. He surprised Kas- 
kaskia in the night and captured it. The French settlers 
were at first terrorized, for the British had told them that 
the Americans were worse than the Indians. Clark explained 
the American cause to them. They then met in their 
church and prayed and talked over the situation in which 
they found themselves. Father Gibault, later connected 
with Vincennes, did much to calm the fears of the people 
and win them over to the Americans. Clark, meanwhile, 
had shut himself in the fort, and did not permit the vil- 
lagers to know the size of his force. He represented it as 
much larger than it really was, and also gave out that he 
had a large force at the falls of the Ohio, and could get 
any number of men from Kentucky by simply calling for 
them. He announced his intention of marching against 
Vincennes and destroying it. The French in Kaskaskia 
plead against such a course, for they had friends and rela- 
tives in Vincennes. Father Gibault offered to go to Vin- 
cennes and win over the inhabitants to the American 
cause. This proposition was exactly what Clark had been 



48 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

working for, and of course he consented. He remained 
in Kaskaskia, while Father Gibault and a Doctor Lafonte, 
together with a small following, among whom Clark had 
not neglected to include a spy, set out for Vincennes. The 
Commandant of Vincennes, Abbott, was at Detroit, and 
had left no garrison. In two days after the arrival of the 
party from Kaskaskia, the American flag waved over 
Fort Sackville, as the fortress of Vincennes was then 
called. 

Clark Reenlists His Men. The time of enlistment for 
Clark's recruits had meanwhile expired, and that daring 
young commander was at his wit's ends to know how to 
hold his men. He succeeded, however, in reenhsting for 
eight months longer — without any authority other than 
his own^about one hundred men, who were induced to 
stay by liberal promises of land grants and other bounties. 

The Indians Treat with the Americans. In the mean- 
time, Clark set to work bringing about friendly relations 
with the Indians and strengthening his friendship with 
the French settlers. He was remarkably successful in 
both of these efforts. The Indians about Vincennes were 
under a chief called Tabac, with whom Clark, through 
Captain Leonard Helm, whom he had placed in com- 
mand at Vincennes, entered into negotiations. Tabac, 
after several days of pow-wowing, and the consumption 
of a large quantity of rum, declared himself of the opinion 
that the British were wrong, and the Big Knives, as he 
called the Americans, were right. It was not long before 
many of the Indian tribes of the Northwest began to 
flock to Vincennes to follow the example of Tabac and 
treat with the ''Big Knife" chief. Daily, through the 
desertion of their Indian allies, the British lost ground. 

British Still Confident. But with true British tenacity, 
they refused to give up the Northwest without a strug- 



CONQUEST OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY 49 

gle. They knew that Clark's forces were pitifully small, 
that his audacity and cunning, and the force of his per- 
sonality, were responsible for his success; they knew that 
he had no reserves of men or ammunition on which to 
draw, and they argued that his sheer pluck and daring 
could not continue to hold the vast region over which he 
had gained control 

British Recapture Vincennes. Hamilton, the Lieu- 
tenant Governor of Detroit, collected an army of thirty 




BRITISH RECAPTURE VINCENNES 



regulars, fifty French volunteers, and four hundred Indians, 
and marched against Vincennes. He reached the fort on 
the 15th of December, 1778, and found it garrisoned by 
two men, Captain Leonard Helm and a private. The 



,50 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

inhabitants made no attcnii)t to defend the town. Cap- 
tain Helm and his one private, however, demanded the 
terms of surrender, standing in the open doorway of the 
fort by a loaded cannon pointed at the British ranks. 
When informed by Hamilton that he should be conceded 
all the honors of war. Helm, and his garrison of one man, 
marched out of the fort with due ceremony. 

Vigo Brings News of the Capture to Clark. Clark was 
still at Kaskaskia, and knew" nothing of the movements 
of the British and their capture of Vincennes. Informa- 
tion of conditions at Vincennes was finally brought to 
Kaskaskia by Francis Vigo, a man we hear much of in the 
later history of Vincennes and Indiana. Hamilton had 
a garrison of eighty men and was wtII supplied with all 
necessities, both ammunition and food. Vigo also brought 
news that in the spring the hostile Indians were to meet 
at Vincennes and attack the Kentucky frontier. A large 
detachment of regular soldiers were to join Hamilton at 
the same time, bringing with them supplies and ammuni- 
tion. 

Clark Sets Out for Vincennes. Clearly the time to 
strike was at once. Clark acted with his usual courage 
and daring, and began immediate preparations for march- 
ing against the post on the Wabash. A large river boat 
w^as fitted up, mounted with six guns, loaded with artil- 
lery and provisions, manned w^ith forty-six men under 
Lieutenant Rogers, and dispatched to await the troops at 
a point near Vincennes. This boat, called the ''Willing," 
sailed February 4, 1779. The following day Clark set 
out from Kaskaskia with one hundred and thirty men. 

Difficulties of the March. The distance to Vincennes 
was one hundred and sixty miles. The unbroken prairies 
of Illinois had been turned into plains of mud and lakes 
of water by the continuous rains. The weather was cold 



CONQUEST OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY 51 

and raw, yet most of this long march lay through mud 
and water which the men must wade. The hardships of 
that march seem too terrible for us to realize at the pres- 
ent day. Major Bowman, one of the men under Clark's 
command, kept a journal of the expedition wherein he 
recounted from daj^ to day the trials and sufferings of the 
brave little band. The true stories of courage and hard- 
ship told in this journal are not surpassed in the annals of 
any people. 

Last Days of the March. On the morning of the 18th 
of February, after having marched fourteen days, Clark 




CLARK'S MARCH TO VINCENNES 



found himself ten miles from Vincennes. The entire 
surrounding country was flooded The provisions of 
the party were gone, and in the waste of waters no 
game could be found to serve as food. The men could not 
even find dry land to sleep on at night. They set to mak- 



52 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

ing canoes, and sent out a party in one of them to try to 
find some trace of the ''Willing." The party was unsuc- 
cessful in finding the boat, and returned to join their half- 
starved companions. On the 20th, a party of French- 
men in a boat passed one of the sentries and told him that 
the British were still unaware of the approach of Clark, 
and that the inhabitants of Vincennes were well dis- 
posed toward the Americans. That same day one of the 
soldiers killed a deer — which was the only food the entire 
army had until the 24th. On the 21st the men were ferried 
across the river to a small hill. They marched from it 
through water, sometimes up to their necks, to another 
bit of dry land nearer the town. On the 23rd, they came 
in sight of the town and again made camp. That day 
they captured a man who was hunting ducks. He told 
them that their approach was still unsuspected. Clark 
sent a letter by him to the inhabitants. The letter, which 
follows, is characteristic: 

Clark's Letter to the Inhabitants of Vincennes. ''To 
the Inhabitants of Post Vincennes: 

^^ Gentlemen: Being now within two miles of your vil- 
lage with my army, determined to take your fort this 
night, and not being willing to surprise you, I take this 
method to request such of you as are true citizens, and 
willing to enjoy the liberty I bring you, to remain still in 
your houses. And those, if any there be, that are friends 
to the King, will instantly repair to the fort and join the 
Hairbuyer-General* and fight like men. And if any such 
as do not go to the Fort shall be discovered afterwards, 
they may depend on severe punishment. On the con- 
trary, those who are true sons to liberty, may depend on 
being well treated. And I once more request them to 

* Referring to Hamilton's offer of bounties for the scalps of 
Americans. 



CONQUEST OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY 53 

keep out of the streets, for every one I find in arms on my 
arrival, I shall treat as an enemy. 

G. R. Clark." 

Attack Made. In order to give time for the reading 
of this letter, the army remained in concealment until 
after sundown, when they began the march of two miles 
on the town. They reached it about eight o'clock, and 
took possession, throwing up an intrenchment and open- 
ing fire on the fort. Only one man was seriously injured 
during the night. 

The British Surrender. In the morning Clark sent a 
messenger to Hamilton ordering him to surrender. Ham- 
ilton refused, but later in the day asked for three days' 
truce. Clark refused to consider this, demanding instant 
surrender. The two officers met in the village church 
and after much parleying, Hamilton signed the articles 
of surrender as dictated by Clark. On the morning of the 
25th, the British garrison marched out, and the American 
flag was raised over the fort, never again to be replaced 
by the flag of another nation. The next day the British 
officers and thirty-eight soldiers who were returning to 
Post Vincennes, as guard to seven boatloads of provisions, 
were captured by the Americans. The ''Willing" arrived 
too late to be of any service, a fact that caused great 
chagrin to the officer in charge and to the men under him. 

Disposal of Prisoners. The British prisoners in this 
remote region presented quite a problem. The common 
soldiers were released after they had taken oath not to 
bear arms against the American colonies again. The 
officers were finally sent to Virginia and released after 
some months, by the command of General Washington. 

George Rogers Clark. George Rogers Clark has been 
called the *'Hannil)al of the West." Though he was and 
will always ])e a popular hero, the United States Govern- 



54 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

ment never accorded him either proper reward or appre- 
ciation for his services. When we consider the vast terri- 
tory he added to the United States, and the incalculable 
wealth of that territory to-day, the injustice of his treat- 
ment becomes fully apparent. It has remained for those 
who came after him to fully appreciate the wonderful 
deeds of this heroic man, whose actual hardships and trials 
in serving his country, as well as his achievements, were 
not surpassed by any other one man in the war for 
American independence. 



CHAPTER V 

FRONTIER HISTORY 

Indian Hostilities. The history of the next fifteen 
years — 1779 to 1794 — is a record of bloody Indian wars, 
marked, on the part of both whites and red men, by a 
brutality that we can scarcely believe possible in this day 
of wide-spread peace. The whites resorted to the Indian 
mode of fighting, and gave no quarter, tomahawking, 
and carrying home bloody scalps just as did the Indians. 
On both sides innocent women and children were massacred 
in Vv holesale fashion. Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois 
were the scenes of continual butchering, with human beings 
as the victims. It has been estimated that between the 
close of the revolutionary war and 1790, the Indians killed 
1,500 people, and ran off 20,000 horses on the frontier 
region, and that, in addition, other property^ consisting of 
money, merchandise, household goods, wearing apparel, 
etc., of great value was taken.* 

Government Refuses to Aid Settlers. Repeated let- 
ters to the President and other governmental officials had 
little effect. Murmurings against the government were 
heard on all sides, and finally the determination to avenge 
themselves arose in the breasts of the sturdy pioneers. We 
can scarcely blame them for any of their violence or bru- 
tality. What they endured we can not appreciate now. 
They suffered heavy loss, but they gradually forced the 
Indians back and won the fertile lands we now enjoy. 

* Note. — From a letter written by Judge Innes to the Secretary 
of War, July 1790. See Burnet's "Notes" p. 91. 

55 



56 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Need of Organized Effort. This awful condition of 
affairs on the frontier continued so long largely because 
of the poverty of the new federal government, and the 
lack of a leader on the frontier itself who was able to 
organize the forces at hand and lead them to victory. 
The whites fought only in small bodies — seldom over a 
thousand men. They were usually gathered hastily and 
lacked discipline and training. They were successful 
when they surprised the Indians, but seldom so when 
they met them in an equal encounter. We find many 
accounts in the old records of a handful of whites slip- 
ping on an Indian village, murdering the inhabitants, 
destroying stores of food, burning the huts and retiring 
before the neighboring Indians were aware of what had 
happened. In revenge the Indians did the same thing 
They attacked outlying settlements, murdered the inhabi- 
tants, pillaged the houses, and then applied the torch. 

Bowman's Raid. The early summer of 1779 saw one 
of the first organized raids on the Indians. It was com- 
manded by Colonel John Bowman of Kentucky, who had 
three hundred men under him. Thej^ marched against 
an Indian town on the Little Miami River, but were unsuc- 
cessful in their attempt to surprise it In the fight with 
the Indians Bowman lost eight men. 

Byrd's Expedition. The following spring an expedi- 
tion against the settlements in Kentucky was headed by 
Captain Byrd, who set out from Detroit with a force of 
six hundred men, most of them Indians. They were sup- 
plied with English guns and ammunition, and Byrd was 
a regular officer in the English service. Several small 
posts were attacked, and then, for some unkno^\^l reason, 
the party beat a hasty retreat to Detroit. 

Clark in Command. Byrd's expedition was not in 
itself so very important, ]:»ut it roused the Kentuckians 



FRONTIER HISTORY 57 

to action again. George Rogers Clark organized a force 
of about a thousand men to move against the Indian vil- 
lages on the Little Miami and Big Miami Rivers. In 
spite of its numbers, this expedition proved a failure. 
While making an attack on a large Indian town the force 
was repulsed with a loss of twenty men, and retired toward 
Kentucky where it was disbanded. 

The Year 1782. During the next two years the war- 
fare continued without the slightest interruption. On 
the whole, the Indians were more successful than the 
whites. The loss in lives sustained by the settlers was 
very heavy. The year 1782 was one of horror — the most 
bloody ever known on the western frontier. First came 
a massacre of Moravian Indians by a party from western 
Pennsylvania. Two weeks later came a fight at Estell's 
Station in Kentucky. In May, Colonel William Craw- 
ford headed an expedition of 480 volunteers from Pennsyl- 
vania, and in an engagement on the upper Sandusky 
River the force was defeated with a loss of over a hun- 
dred men. Crawford was captured and burned at the 
stake with unspeakable tortures. In November., 1782, 
General Clark organized another large force — something 
over a thousand men — and marched into the Indian coun- 
try to destroy the Shawnee and other villages on the 
banks of the Big and Little Miami Rivers. On this expedi- 
tion he was more successful than he had been on his former 
one. The principal Shawnee town was destroyed, and the 
British trading post at the head of the Miami shared a 
like fate. The loss to the Indians was ten killed, seven 
captured and two whites retaken. Clark's force suffered 
the loss of one killed and one wounded. 

Treaty of Peace with England. September 3, 1783, 
a definite treaty of peace was signed by the United States 
and Great Brtiain. This was ratified by Congress in 



58 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

January of the following year. The war had really come 
to a close with the surrender of Cornw^allis in 1781. By 
the treaty, however, the definite boundaries were estab- 
lished, and British aid to the Indians, openly at least, 
ceased. 

George Rogers Clark. In July, 1783, George Rogers 
Clark was honorably discharged from military service 
by the Governor of Virginia, who returned to Clark the 
thanks of himself and the council for his services. It is 
probable that if Virginia had properly supported Clark 
in his ventures in 1778 to 1781, that he would (to quote 
Mr. Dunn*) "have made Vincennes a stepping stone 
to Detroit, Detroit to Niagara and Niagara to Montreal 
and Quebec." Because of this lack of support he saw a 
great opportunity slip from his grasp. When he received 
the sword from the Virginia authorities in testimony of 
his services, he thrust it in the ground, snapped it off 
and flung away the hilt, exclaiming bitterly: ''I asked 
Virginia for bread, and she sent me a sw^ord." 

Congress Sets Time for a Treaty. The Indians con- 
tinued their depredations, fighting, as they believed, for 
their homes and hunting grounds. With the hope of end- 
ing the trouble, Congress, March 18, 1785, passed a resolu« 
tion calling for a treaty with the Indian tribes, to be held 
at Vincennes in June of that same year. The object of 
the proposed treaty was to establish boundary lines between 
the United States and the Indian Nations. 

Opposition to Treaty. The Indians were greatly 
aroused b}^ this proposal. The French settlers and the 
Illinois and Wabash land companies, claiming their ter- 
ritory through Indian grants, were equall}" excited. Neither 
the Miami Indians, the French settlers, nor the land com- 
panies were disposed to give up their claims to the Fed- 

* Dunn's "Indiana," page 162. 



FRONTIER HISTORY 59 

eral Government. To complicate matters, the British 
still held Detroit, and Spain claimed both the right and 
left banks of the Mississippi. 

Hostile Indians Meet. The Indians who opposed 
making a treaty with the United States Government met 
at Ouiatanon, on the Wabash, in August, 1785. Repre- 
sentatives from all the tribes whose lands were concerned 
were present. To make the temper of the Indians worse, 
a very unfortunate incident happened about this time at 
Vincennes. An Indian killed one of the French settlers, 
and a party of friends of this man fell on a body of Indians, 
killing four and wounding several more. Angered by 
this, the council at Ouiatanon sent an envoy to their 
'%rmer friends, the French," at Vincennes, notifying 
them that they must remove at once, for the Indians 
intended making war on all Americans, and if the French 
did not leave Vincennes they would be regarded as 
enemies, and massacred without mercy. 

Conditions At and Near Vincennes. Vincennes paid 
little or no attention to these threats. The court con- 
tinued its sessions, granting tracts of land to any one who 
would pay the requisite fee. The settlers who attempted 
to cultivate these tracts suffered either massacre by the 
Indians, or what was often worse, capture. Conditions 
finally became such that all settlers either moved tem- 
porarily to Vincennes or clown into Kentucky. The hos- 
tility of the Indians stopped all progress in the new coun- 
tr3^ It interfered with the land companies, with the set- 
tlement of the new territory, and with the attempts of 
Congress to establish the rights of the Federal Govern- 
ment to the lands on the northwest side of the Ohio River. 

Clark Directed to Move Against the Indians. Mean- 
while the Indian depredations became so open and so 
numerous that General Clark, after having repeatedly 



•-€0 THE STORY OF IXDIAXA 

informed Governor Henry- of Virginia of the state of 
affairs, was. on the 15th day of May. 17S5. finally directed 
to assemble the field-officers of the Kentucky- Mihtia and 
have them take the necessary steps for the protection of 
the settlements. Clark was appointed commander of 
the forces, and it was resolved to invade the Indian 
coimtrv". 

Claik-'s Campaign of 178o. in ^eptember, Clark set 
out with a force of a thousand men. They marched from 
the falls of the Ohio toward Vincennes. reaching there 
eariy in October. They encami)ed. and awaited the arrival 
of their provision boat. Clark sent Captain Benjamin 
Logan back to Kentucky to raise another force, and pro- 
ceed northeastward to attack some of the Indian towns on 
the Big and Little Miami rivers. ^Meanwhile, the troops 
encamped near \Tncennes began to grow dissatisfied. 
When the provision boat arrived, half the food was spwiled. 
and this put the men in bad humor. To make matters 
worse^ Clark was not the man he had been in the days of 
his early campaigns. He was drinking hard, and because 
of this had lost the confidence of his men. But despite 
the unwillingness of the soldiers, Clark reenforced his 
army from among the inhabitants of Vincennes, and 
marched against an Indian village on the Vermilion 
River. Clark was now constantly iutoxicated, and his 
men lost faith in him. Rumors were circulated among 
the soldiers that their commander had sent a flag to the 
Indi.in^; offering them peace, and at this, three hundred 
of the army deserted in a body. As a result the entire 
expedition was abandoned. 

Colonel Logan's Expedition. Colonel Logan was more 
successful in his venture. He raised between four and five 
hundred mounted riflemen and penetrated into the Indian 
countrv as far as the head waters of the Mad River. He 



FRONTIER HISTORY 61 

burned eight large towns, took over seventy prisoners 
and killed twenty warriors. His own loss was but ten men. 

Garrison Established at Vincennes. When Clark's 
expedition reached Vincennes, a council of the field officers 
was held, and it was ''unanimously agreed that a garrison 
at that place would be of essential service to the district 
of Kentucky, and that supplies might be had in the dis- 
trict more than sufficient for their support, by impress- 
ment, or otherwise, under the direction of a commissary 
to be appointed for that purpose, pursuant to the author- 
ity vested in the field-officers of the district by the execu- 
tive of Virginia." The same board appointed Mr. John 
Craig, Jr., a commissary of purchases, and resolved that 
one field officer and two hundred and fifty men (exclusive 
of a company of artillery, to be commanded by Captain 
Valentine Thomas Dalton), be recruited to garrison Fort 
Vincennes; and that Colonel John Holder be appointed 
to command the troops in the service. Clark took con- 
trol of everything connected with the establishment of 
the garrison, and in addition, called a council with the 
Indian Chiefs at Clarksville, at the falls of the Ohio. The 
Indians favored a council, but wanted it held at the place 
where they had ''been accustomed to speak" — at Post 
Vincennes. To this Clark agreed, proposing the last of 
April, 1787, as the time. 

Troubled Because of Method Used to Supply Garrison. 
Clark's troubles now began. The executive board of Vir- 
ginia failed to support him and the field-officers under 
his command, in their establishment of the garrison at 
Vincennes, and in the impressment of supplies for its sup- 
port. The cause of most of the trouble la}^ in the fact 
that the supplies appropriated were the goods of certain 
Spanish merchants recently established at Vincennes. 
The United States and Spain were at that time on the 



62 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

verge of war over the western boundary of our country 
and the right of American citizens to use the Mississippi 
River for navigation. Clark and his associates knew that 
Spain would not permit Americans to pass down the river 
with boats of merchandise, and they were aroused over 
this arbitrary attitude. Furthermore, the Spanish mer- 
chants whose goods were seized had, so Clark asserted, 
and with good proof, furnished the Indians with military 
and other stores. The Spaniards along the Mississippi 
had made many seizures of goods belonging to Americans, 
and Clark regarded his action as justifiable, on the ground 
that ''turn about is fair play." Clark did not know that 
Congress had voted a temporary relinquishment of the 
rights of navigation on the Mississippi, and that Spain 
had, therefore, a perfect right to seize the boats and goods 
of Americans found navigating the stream. 

Clark's Justification. In spite of the work of many 
enemies, and the open censure of the Virginia authorities, 
the western people as a whole upheld Clark's action. 
Virginia had ordered the field-officers to take measures 
for the protection of the frontier; they met and chose 
Clark to command them; he accepted, and because there 
was no provision made by the Virginia legislature for sup- 
plying the troops, he had to resort to the first expedient 
that came to hand. Before taking the step, Clark and 
the field-officers obtained the best legal advice of the ter- 
ritory and acted under it, so the question of blame seems 
eliminated. 

Last Days of George Rogers Clark. The controversy 
over Clark's action had the unfortunate effect of sinking 
him deeper into the slough of despondency. He fell into 
a state of ''sullen indignation." Judge Burnet, who visited 
Clark in 1799 says: "The cruel ingratitude to which this 
distinguished soldier was doomed — for which no justifiable 



FRONTIER HISTORY 63 

cause can be assigned — and the comparative poverty, 
which made him almost a pensioner on the bounty of his 
relatives, was more than he could bear. ... He sought 
the inebriating bowl, as if it contained the water of Lethe, 
and could obliterate from his memory the wrongs he had 
endured." 



CHAPTER VI 

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY AND THE 
ORDINANCE OF 1787 

Treaty by Which the United States Gained the North- 
west Territory Jay, Adams and Franklin, in negotiating 
the treaty of peace that closed the war of the Revolution, 
had great difficulty in saving for the United States the 
great North Avest. The English commissioners presented 
many schemes and plans that would have allowed Eng- 
land to retain much of this valuable region. Our commis- 
sioners, however, were finally successful in fixing the 
western boundary at the Mississippi and the northern 
boundary at a line through the centers of Lake Erie, 
Ontario, Huron and Superior. Our claims to this terri- 
tory were based upon the original grants given by Eng- 
land to the various colonies and upon the actual conquest 
of the Northwest territory by George Rogers Clark. 

Claims of the Various States. The Northwest terri- 
tory was claimed in part by Massachusetts, Connecti- 
cut and Virginia. These states had received grants from 
the English crown for strips of land that extended ''to 
the setting sun." New York laid claim to all the terri- 
tory north of the Ohio River and west of the Alleghany 
Mountains because of a treaty with the Iroquois Indians. 
The claims of these various states were conflicting and 
overlapping. Through the influence of wise statesmen, 
the states finally transferred their claims to the general 
government. Thus the territory north of the Ohio River 
became the common property of the United States. The 

64 




LAND CLAIMS OF THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 67 

cession of these lands to the general government solved 
one of the most difficult problems that confronted the 
young republic. It removed the cause of jealousy by the 
states that had no claims upon western lands. It also 
had the effect of helping nationalize the government by 
creating a public domain that the general government 
must care for. 

Jefferson's Plan for the New Territory. Thomas Jef- 
ferson suggested that the new territory be divided by 
parallels and meridians into ten states, and that these be 
given high sounding, classical names. This suggestion, 
however, did not meet with approval, as it was thought 
better to make fewer states and to allow the people to 
select the names. 

The Ordinance of 1785. In 1785, Congress passed 
"An Ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of 
lands in the Western territory." This ordinance pro- 
vided for a system of survey under the direction of the 
Geographer of the United States. The plan adopted 
was the one that has been used by the United States in 
all land surveys since that date. The land was laid off 
into townships six miles square. These were determined 
by running lines north and south and others at right angles 
to these. The townships were designated by numbers 
north and south from a fixed base line, and by ranges east 
and west from a principal meridian. The original plan 
provided for no smaller division than the square mile. 
Later this was modified so that each square mile was 
divided into forty-acre lots. This system of land survey 
covered all of Indiana except the old French surveys in 
and about Vincennes, and Clark's grant in Clark and Scott 
Counties. The latter was a grant of land made to George 
Rogers Clark for his services in the northwest. It was 
laid out according to the old French system of surveying. 



68 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



School Fund from Public Land. It was in the ordi- 
nance of 1785, that provision was made by which one 




JEFFERSON'S PLAN 1784 



PLAN PROPOSED BY JEFFERSON 



square mile in every township, section sixteen, was set 
apart for the support of pubhc schools. This was a far 
reaching act of statesmanship, and has resulted in giving 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 69 

to the various states of the Northwest a large public 
school endowment. 

Ordinance of 1787. The ordinance of 1787 was enacted 
July 13th of that year. There has been much dispute 
about the authorship of this important document. Nathan 
Dane, Thomas Jefferson, Manasseh Cutler, and Rufus 
King have all had staunch advocates. It is well estab- 
lished that Nathan Dane was the secretary of the com- 
mittee, and that the language and form of the document 
are due to him. The matter of the ordinance was a sort 
of composite from the various members of the committee 

Greatness of the Ordinance. It is a great state paper, 
whose authorship would honor any man. In speaking of 
it, George F Hoar says: 'The ordinance of 1787 belongs 
with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitu- 
tion. It is one of the three title deeds of American con- 
stitutional liberty." Daniel Webster says of it: "We are 
accustomed to praise the lawgivers of antiquity; we help 
to perpetuate the fame of Solon and Lycurgus; but I 
doubt whether one single law of any lawgiver, ancient or 
modern, has produced effects of more distinct, marked 
and lasting character than the ordinance of 1787." 

Provisions of the Ordinance. The first part of the 
ordinance provided in detail a plan of government for the 
new territory. Temporarily it was to be in one district, 
but might be divided into two if Congress deemed it expe- 
dient. It ordained that landed estates of all persons 
dying intestate should be divided among the children, or, 
if there were no children, among those next of kin, in 
equal shares. This proviso was in harmony with a recent 
enactment in Virginia that removed entail and primo- 
geniture from the laws of that state. 

Government of the Territory. It was provided that 
the territory should be under the general control of a gov- 



70 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

ernor appointed by Congress for a term of three years, a 
secretary appointed for a term of four years, and three 
judges to serve during good behavior. The election of a 
general assembly was to occur as soon as there should be 
''5000 free male inhabitants of full age in the district." 
Until a general assembly met, the Governor and judges 
were required to adopt and publish such civil and crimi- 
nal laws of the original states as they might deem neces- 
sary and best suited to the people of the new territory. 
The legislature was to consist of the governor, the legis- 
lative council, and the house of representatives. The 
members of the house were to be selected by popular 
vote. It was provided ''That a free-hold in fifty acres of 
land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the 
states, and being a resident in the district, or the like 
free-hold and two years' residence in the district, shall be 
necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representa- 
tive." It was required that the governor reside in the 
territory, and have a "free-hold estate thereon in one thou- 
sand acres." The secretary, judges, and members of the 
council were each required to "have free-hold estate in 
five hundred acres." Representatives were required to 
own, in fee simple, two hundred acres of land. The legis- 
lative council consisted of five members elected by Con- 
gress from a list of ten members nominated by the House 
of Representatives. Representatives served for two 
years, and members of the legislative council for five 
years, unless sooner removed by Congress. 

Compact between the Original States and the New 
Territory. The second part of the ordinance took the 
form of a compact between the original states and the 
new territory This compact was to remain forever unal- 
terable unless by common consent. It is so important 
that a brief summary of its articles is ^'iveu; — -' 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 71 

Article One declares that ''no person, demean- 
ing himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever 
be molested on account of his mode of worship or relig- 
ious sentiments." 

Article Two guarantees the writ of Habeas Cor- 
pus, trial by jury, proportional representation in the legis- 
lature, and the privilege of the common law. It further 
provides that all persons guilty of an offense, unless it 
be a capital one, shall be allowed bail. Unusual punish- 
ments are prohibited, and the taking of either liberty or 
property without due process of law, is denied. 

Article Three contains the oft quoted statement, 
''religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to 
good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, 
and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." 
This article also provides that "The utmost good faith 
shall always be observed toward the Indians." 

Article Four says that the new territory and 
the states that may be made from it, shall forever remain 
a part of the United States of America. It further pro- 
vides that the navigable waters leading into the Mississippi 
and the St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between 
tl\e same, shall be common highways and forever free to 
all the citizens of the United States. 

Article Five fixes the number of states that may 
be formed from the territory at not less than three nor 
more than five. It also provides that whenever the popu- 
lation of a district shall be 60,000 free inhabitants, that 
it may be admitted into the United States on an equal 
footing with the original states, provided its constitution 
and government shall be republican and in conformity 
to the principles contained in the ordinance. 

Article Six reads "There shall be neither slavery 
nor involuntary servitude in said territory, otherwise than 



72 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



in punishment for crimes, whereof the party shall have 
been duly convicted: Provided, alwaj^s, that any person 




ORDINANCE OF 1787 



DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY BY THE ORDINANCE 

OF 1787 



escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is 
lawfully claimed in any one of the original states, such 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 73 

fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the 
person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid." 
Area of the New Territory. The Northwest Terri- 
tory comprised the area now included in Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. It was an empire in 
extent, containing 265,878 square miles. The rich soil, 
the great resources of timber, coal and minerals, the fine 
climate, and the exceptionally good means for water 
transportation made it almost ideal. The free government 
and many privileges guaranteed by the Ordinance of 
1787, added to its attractiveness. In view of these facts, 
it is not surprising that numbers of settlers hurried into 
the new territory. 



CHAPTER VII 

INDIAN WARS AND TREATIES 

Arthur St. Clair Becomes Governor. Soon after the 
passing of the Ordinance of 1787, Arthur St Clair was 
elected by Congress as governor of the Northwest Terri- 
tory. St. Clair was a Scotchman by birth, but had come 
to America in 1755 and had seen much military service, 
fighting with Wolf at Quebec, and later serving as an 
officer throughout the Revolutionary War. 

Hamtramck in Command at Vincennes. St Clair 
did not arrive at Vincennes until nearly a year after his 
election, and in the meantime Major John F. Ham- 
tramck, commandant of the post, had charge of civil as 
well as military affairs. Major Hamtramck was a wise 
and efficient man, and his management did much for the 
betterment of conditions at the post. He issued a proc- 
lamation prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors to 
the Indians, which was the first liquor law in Indiana. 
He acted as judge in settling personal troubles between 
the inhabitants, and greatly pleased them by his justice 
and impartiality. 

St. Clair Arrives at Vincennes. St Clair arrived in 
July, 1788, and began to organize the government of the 
new territory at once. Laws were made, judges were 
appomted, and courts organized. In form, at least, the 
new territory had all that went to make up government in 
any of the older states of the East. The distances from 
settlement to settlement, the wilderness, the Indian trou- 
bles, and the many other conditions found in the new 

74 



INDIAN WARS AND TREATIES 75 

region, made it impossible for the government to operate 
efficiently. 

Trouble with the Indians. The Indians continued to be 
very hostile. The British encouraged them in this hos- 
tility and furnished them with guns and ammunition, for 
as long as the Americans were kept busy protecting their 
frontier, the army posts on American soil, which the British 
had not yet given up, were safe. Their aid made it possible 
for the Indians to hold out much longer than they could 
otherwise have done, and the presence of Canadian and 
English recruits among the Indian war parties gave them 
added strength. Treaties made with the red men were 
almost useless under these conditions, for by their white 
allies they were easily persuaded to break them. Still hop- 
ing that the Indians might be won over by peaceable means, 
Governor St. Clair, in the spring of 1790, sent a representa- 
tive named Gamelin among the different Indian tribes 
with speeches addressed to each, urging peace. To these 
overtures the red men refused to listen, and the settlers 
saw that the only way to put an end to the continual out- 
rages committed on the frontier was by an Indian war. 

Harmar's Expedition. Under General Harmar, a 
large body of men was organized, drilled, and made ready 
for an Indian campaign. The army consisted of three 
battalions of Virginia militia, one battalion of Pennsyl- 
vania militia, one battalion of light mounted troops, and 
two battalions of regular troops. The total number was 
1,453 men. The army set out in the early fall of 1790 
from Fort Washington, which was on the site of the pres- 
ent city of Cincinnati. The men were too hastily gath- 
ered and too poorly drilled to be a real fighting body, but 
General Harmar started out with them nevertheless, and 
moved northward toward the Indian villages on the Big 
and Little Miami Rivers. 



76 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

The Expedition Proves a Failure. In the first skirmish 
the militia proved almost useless, for they fled at the first 
aUirm. The small body of regular soldiers, about four 
hundred in number, were the only men on whom General 
Harmar could rely. An engagement occurred on the 18th 
of. October, in which the army was defeated by a much 
smaller body of Indians, and lost nearly a hundred men. 
Most of the killed and wounded were among the reguhir 
soldiers. Several other encounters with the Indians took 
place, nearly all of them resulting disastrously for the 
whites. When the army finally reached Fort Washington 
on its return from the campaign, November 2d, the loss 
had amounted to 183 killed, and 31 wounded. 

Scott and Wilkinson Make Successful Raids. In the 
following spring Brigadier General Scott of Kentucky, 
headed an expedition of 800 men against the Indian towns 
on the Wabash River. He was successful in destroying 
them and in killing many of the inhabitants. He lost 
but few men from his own command. Later in the sum- 
mer, a similar expedition was made under Brigadier Gen- 
eral Wilkinson, and was equally successful. 

St. Clair's Expedition. The most disastrous expedi- 
tion made during the series of Indian campaigns was 
that under Governor St. Clair. The army, the largest 
yet assembled on the frontier, left Fort Washington early 
in September, 1791. As it proceeded northward, sev- 
eral forts were erected and garrisoned. The main body 
of the army, numbering 1,400 men, moved on to the head 
waters of the Wabash River, reaching thc^re early in 
November. The Indians had kept close watch on the 
movements of the army, and at this time were within a 
few miles of it, waithig a chance to make an attack with 
a large force undc^r the command of Little Turtle, Blue 
Jacket, and other famous Indian chiefs. On the third of 



INDIAN WARS AND TREATIES 77 

November St. Clair's army encamped, throwing up earth- 
works and taking all precautions for a possible attack. 
The next morning the attack came — unexpectedly, and 
just at daylight. The militia were lying about the outer 
edge of the camp, and had to bear the brunt of the attack. 
They fled into the center of the camp and so impeded the 
work of the regular soldiers that they could do but little 
real fighting. The whole army soon lost all semblance of 
order and discipline, and began a retreat that was Uttle 
more than a disorderly flight. The Indians followed 
them, killing the stragglers, and harassing the entire force. 
The loss in this disastrous engagement was heavy. Six 
hundred thirty-two men were killed, two hundred sixty- 
four wounded, and in addition over one hundred women, 
who were following the fortunes of their husbands, met 
with most horrible deaths at the hands of the savages. 
St. Clair's defeat was indeed a blow to the Northwest. 
The tide of immigration was checked, not to begin again 
until after Wayne's defeat of the Indians. 

Anthony Wayne. St. Clair, though he was in no way 
to blame for the disaster with which his army met, resigned 
his office of Major General, and Anthony Wayne, a Penn- 
sylvanian who had distinguished himself in the Revolu- 
tionary War, was appointed to fill the position. From the 
early part of the year 1792 until the middle of August, 1793, 
Wayne was busy recruiting an army. His headquarters 
were at Pittsburg, and his recruits came largely from the 
eastern states. These men were in the main ignorant of 
war and of military discipline. Wayne had no small task 
before him in training them, and making them fit for the 
campaign he had planned. He set about his task with 
tact and skill, and the army soon began to assume the 
proper character. He drilled the men in all the regular mili- 
tary tactics and exercises, and, in addition, taught them 



78 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

those special maneuvers necessary to the successful 
Indian fighter. The riflemen sought to excel in marks- 
manship, and the General offered special privileges to 
those who became expert marksmen. By the middle of 
the summer of 1793, Wayne's forces, now numbering 
3,630 men, had been moved down the river and had estab- 
lished a camp near Fort Washington. The Government 
was still making overtures of peace to the Indians, though 
the uselessness of trying to treat with them had long ago 
become apparent. Frightened by the preparations for 
war, and weakened by the recent expeditions into their 
country, the Wabash and Illinois tribes finally made treat- 
ies which were prett}^ faithfully kept. The greater num- 
ber of the tribes refused the government's offers of peace, 
and it became evident that war was the only means by 
which the safety of the frontier might be assured. 

Wayne Continues His Preparations. During the fall 
of 1793, Wayne strengthened his position by the erection 
of several forts, and by the continuous improvement of 
his little army. He was hampered by the illness of many 
of his men, but he kept bravely at work preparing for the 
conflict he knew would come in the spring or summer of 
the following year. The Indians were quite as active. 
Their one great hope lay in securing British aid in the war, 
in the way of guns, ammunition, and other supplies. 

Hostilities Begin. The hostilities began the latter 
part of June, 1794, with a skirmish which took place under 
the very walls of Fort Recovery, in the western part of 
Ohio. The number of Indians is not known, but w^as con- 
siderable, while the Americans numbered only a hundred 
and forty. 

Final Engagement. About a month later, Wayne's 
army was reenforced by 1,600 mounted volunteers from 
Kentucky, and the march on the Indian towns was begun. 



INDIAN WARS AND TREATIES 79 

On the 8th of August the army reached the place where 
the Maumee and Auglaise Rivers join, and took posses- 
sion of that important post. On the 20th a victory was 
gained over the Indian forces at a point farther up the 
Maumee, where the British had a post and garrison. The 
Indians were strengthened by a considerable number of 
British soldiers and volunteers from Detroit and Canada. 
The enemy had more than 2,000 men, and when attacked 
were located in a thick wood. The attack was made with 
great bravery by a detachment of Wayne's forces which 
numbered only 900 men, and, ''in the course of an hour," 
to use Wayne's words, ''the enemy were driven more 
than two miles through the thick woods." The fight ter- 
minated under the guns of the British fort, the men of 
the garrison being compelled to watch as passive specta- 
tors the defeat of the army they had encouraged and 
given aid. For three days Wayne's victorious army 
encamped before the British fort, which existed, contrary 
to treaty, on American soil. The British were helpless, 
because their government and that of the United States 
were at peace. Having no orders to interfere, realizing 
too the delicacy of their own position, the garrison had to 
sit by and watch the destruction of the Indian villages 
and of the houses and property of Colonel McKee, the 
British Indian Agent, and the man who for several years 
had been the chief agitator against the Americans. 

Treaty with the British. War between America and 
Great Britain was prevented at this time by the prudence 
and firmness of Washington and the diplomatic skill of 
John Jay, who was sent as envoy to the court of St. James. 
A treaty was concluded by which the British agreed to 
w^ithdraw all troops and garrisons from places within the 
boundary lines of the United States, as they had been 
determined by the treaty of 1783. 



80 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Wayne Arranges for a Treaty with the Indians. The next 
step was to secure a treaty of peace with the Indians, who 
were now quite willing to make terms. During the winter 
of 1794-5. General Wa\Tie was visited at his headquarters at 
Fort Wa\Tie, on the site of the present Indiana city of that 
name, by representatives of the different tribes, who signed 
preliminary articles of peace and agreed to meet Wa\Tie at 
GreenviUe, Ohio. for afinal treaty earlyinthecomingsummer. 

Treaty of Greenville. In the month of June, 1795, the 
Indians from the various tribes began to arrive at Green- 
ville. The ''pow-wow'' contiuued from the 16th of Jime 
to the 10th day of August. ]Many speeches were made on 
both sides, the red men arguing for their right to the old 
hunting grounds, and the whites seeking to persuade them 
to give up the greater part of their lands. Still feeling 
the effects of the defeat in the recent campaign, and learn- 
rug that the English would no longer aid them, the Indians 
at last made such cessions as Wa\-ne demanded. "These 
comprised all of Ohio east of the Cuyahoga River and south 
of a line drawn slightly north of east from Loramie's 
Store, near the head of the Big Miami: military reserva- 
tions at fourteen of the most important points in the 
Indian Country — those in. Indiana being Fort Wa3me, the 
Little River portage, and the old Wea towns near Lafay- 
ette: a tract six miles deep along the Detroit, including the 
French settlements: Clark's grant of 150,000 acres at the 
falls of the Ohio: Fort Massac, Michilimacinac. Viucennes, 
and all other places in possession of the French peo- 
ple and other white settlers among them of which the 
Indian title had been extiugmshed : and the southeastern 
corner of Indiana, h^ing east of a line drawn from Fort 
Recovery to the mouth of the Kentucky River." This 
treaty ceded all the lands which the United States then 
desired, and founded a peace that lasted sixteen years. 



SOURCES OF SETTLERS 

in the 

NORTHWEST TERRITORY 

V .omuuifc I J New England Settlements 
\^^ \ t {:■:■■:■ I From the South 




LonijUude 



West 80" from 



Greenwich £^' 



SOURCES OF SETTLERS IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY 



CHAPTER VIII 

INDIANA TERRITORY 

Immigration. After peace with the Indians had been 
established, immigrants at once began to come in large 
numbers to settle in the fertile lands of Ohio, Indiana and 
Illinois. They came largely from the New England states, 
but the South contributed a share. Since Ohio was 
nearer to the East, the larger number of immigrants 
stopped there. The Indiana settlements were made along 
the Ohio River in Clark's grant, and near Vincennes. Vin- 
cennes itself received quite a number of new citizens, 
though the New England Puritans did not mix very 
well with the French Catholics who had settled the village. 

Trading. Trading with the Indians was one of the 
most profitable enterprises in which the early settlers 
could engage. Posts were established at Fort Wayne, Vin- 
cennes, and other points on the Wabash and its tributa- 
ries. The whites exchanged guns, cloth, trinkets and simi- 
lar commodities with the Indians for the skins of the animals 
trapped by them. The furs obtained were dried, com- 
pressed and secured in packs of about a hundred pounds 
weight. Then the packs were loaded on a boat and started 
for Detroit. The route followed was along the Wabash 
and the Little River to the portage near Fort Wayne. 
There the traders carried their packs across the portage 
to the head of the River Maumee, placed them in boats 
again and continued the journey to Detroit. At this place 
the furs were exchanged for various articles, such as blank- 
ets, guns, knives, powder, bullets and ornaments. These 



84 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



things the traders carried back to their posts to barter for 
more furs. 

Indiana Territory. In May, 1800, Congress passed a 
law estabUshing the Indiana Territory. This included the 
present states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, 




WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 
(From a portrait owned by the Vinoennos X'niversity) 



and part of Minnesota. The total population was slightly 
over five thousand. The capital was fixed at Vincennes. 
William Henry Harrison, a Virginian by birth, was 
appointed Governor of the new Territory, and John Gib- 



INDIANA TERRITORY 85 

son was appointed Secretary. Three territorial judges 
were also appointed. 

Territorial Government. In July, Secretary Gibson 
arrived at Vincennes and made appointments of officers 
and provided for the enforcement of the laws. The Gov- 
ernor did not reach Vincennes until the following Jan- 
uary. When he did arrive he at once began the organiz- 
ing the new government. To that end he called a meet- 
ing of the judges for the purpose of passing laws. They 
met on January 12, 1801, and continued their sessions for 
about two weeks, during which time they adopted seven 
laws and three resolutions. On March 3, the territorial 
judges opened the first general court of Indiana, and 
formed the first grand jury. 

Interests from 1800 to 1810. ''Between the years 1800 
and 1810, the principal subjects which attracted the atten- 
tion of the people in Indiana territory were land specula- 
tions, the adjustment of land titles, the question of negro 
slavery, the purchase of Indian lands by treaties, the 
organization of the territorial legislature, the extension 
of the right of suffrage, the division of the Indiana terri- 
tory, the movements of Aaron Burr, and the hostile views 
and proceedings of the Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, and his 
brother the Prophet."* Let us take up such of these 
points as interest us, and investigate them more fully. 
The matter of slavery is so important that we will not 
consider it here, but give an entire chapter to it later. 

Land Titles. The titles to land claimed by the older 
settlers were usually very ill-founded. The French held 
their lands by virtue of Indian grants, grants from the 
Jormer governments, and the right which came from long 
and undisturbed possession. As a rule the French had 
no deeds, nor any other papers to prove their claims. Con- 
* Note. — Dillon's History of Indiana, Edition of 1859, p. 409. 



86 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

gress, however, was inclined to deal very leniently with the 
French settlers, and so various resolutions were passed 
confirming their claims. Under the government of the 
Northwest Territory, St. Clair did his best to give all the 
claimants justice. After Indiana Territory was formed, 
Governor Harrison had many similar difficulties to settle. 
Finally, in the year 1804, Congress passed an act by which 
the registers and receivers of the land offices at Vincennes, 
Kaskaskia, and Detroit were formed into three separate 
boards of commissioners for the examination of claims and 
titles to lands within their own districts. Many of the 
claims these boards examined were found to be worth- 
less or fraudulent. Certain unprincipled persons sought 
to take advantage of the lack of records to gain lands to 
which they had no right. After the establishment of the 
boards this ceased, for the practice of such frauds was no 
longer safe. 

Purchase of Indian Lands. Governor Harrison was 
very active in acquiring more land from the Indian tribes 
for the United States government. Between the years 1802 
and 1805 he secured several very large districts within the 
boundaries of the territory. In September, 1802, a treaty 
was made with some of the head men of the Miami con- 
federacy, by which a large tract near Vincennes was secured. 
Other treaties followed, and by the close of the year 1805 
Governor Harrison had secured title to about 46,000 square 
miles of land. 

The First Legislature. Congress had provided that 
as soon as the population of Indiana Territory was suffi- 
cient, an election might be held for the purpose of choos- 
ing representatives for a territorial legislature. This 
would make the territory self-governing, and pass it into 
the so-called second grade. Governor Harrison opposed 
the step, chiefly because he feared it would give the advo- 



INDIANA TERRITORY 89 

cates of slavery an opportunity to force slavery on the 
territory. At length he yielded, and an election w^s held. 
The first general assembly of the Indiana Territory met at 
Vincennes, on the 29th of July, 1805. Governor Harrison, 
in his message, recommended the passage of laws: (1) To 
prevent the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians; (2) 
To establish a better system of courts; (3) To provide for 
the improvement of the militia; (4) To provide for the 
punishment of horse stealing; (5) To provide ways and 
means of raising a revenue. The assembly had the author- 
ity to elect a delegate to Congress, and since the terri- 
tory was anxious to have a representative in the national 
legislative body, it was not slow to take advantage of 
this power. Benjamin Parke was elected to this position, 
and, though he had no vote in Congress, his word regard- 
ing affairs in the territory greatly influenced the votes of 
others. 

Division of Indiana Territory. The territory of Michi- 
gan was established on the 11th of January, 1805. This 
territory included about the same region as goes to make 
up the present state. The division of the remainder of 
Indiana Territory into two parts was the result of petitions 
to Congress from the people living within its bounds. 
They urged that the extent of the region and the dangers 
and expense of travel for those compelled to attend court, 
made it desirable to have the territory divided into two 
smaller sections. So, on February 3, 1809, Congress 
passed an act declaring that after March 1, 1809, all that 
part of Indiana Territory lying "west of the Wabash 
River, and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash 
River and Vincennes due north to the territorial line 
between the United States and Canada" should consti- 
tute a separate territory, and be called Illinois. The total 
population of Indiana Territory at this time was about 



90 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

28,000, and of this number 11,000 lived in the neAV territory 
of Illinois. 

Aaron Burr. The plans of Aaron Burr are of interest 
to the people of Indiana because, had they proven suc- 
cessful, they would have changed the entire history of the 
state and of the nation. Burr, who in 1801, had tied with 
Jefferson in the number of votes for the Presidency, lost 
in the final decision, and the office went to Jefferson. The 
decision was largely due to the influence of Alexander 
Hamilton, and Burr, determined to be avenged on Ham- 
ilton, challenged him to a duel. Hamilton reluctantly 
accepted, and in the duel was killed. Burr fled the coun- 
try, and while in hiding formed a plan to raise a large mili- 
tary force, invade Mexico, conquer the Spaniards, who 
possessed the country, and then gain the support of the 
southern states and western territories for the establish- 
ment of a separate government. The plan failed. Burr 
was arrested, but since nothing could be proven against 
him, he was set at liberty. He went abroad, but returned 
to New York at last to die a broken-hearted old man. 

Indianians Connected with Burr. In the Indiana 
Territory were many men who were secretly in communi- 
cation with Burr at the time his plans were forming. Sev- 
eral succeeded in keeping their connection with Burr a 
secret, but some of the most influential men of the terri- 
tory were implicated, and their connection with the affair 
made public. Strange to say, none of these men suffered 
very much in public opinion or politically. 

Tecumseh and the Prophet. Between 1805 and 1810, 
the Indians made many complaints to Governor Harri- 
son and other officials of their treatment by whites who 
sought to defraud them of their lands. Tecumseh, the 
famous Shawnee warrior, and his brother, the Prophet, 
were living in an Indian village on the west fork of White 



CI. 






2 CO 




INDIANA TERRITORY 93 

River, within the present l)oundarie8 of DeUiware County. 
The Prophet took it upon himself to make speeches against 
the white men, and against such of the Indians as were dis- 
posed to be friendly to the whites. Worst of all, the 
Prophet began to talk witchcraft, and accused some of 
the Indians of his village of practicing it. Several were 
burned at the stake. This excitement died down, and, 
early in 1806, the two brothers moved to Greenville, in 
Ohio, where they began gathering about them all the dis- 
satisfied Indians of the various western tribes. In 1808 
they moved to a point on the banks of the Wabash River 
near the mouth of the Tippecanoe River. The Prophet 
began having dealings with some of the British Indian 
agents, who were anxious to organize the Northwest tribes 
and use them as allies in case of war with the United 
States. The Prophet opposed further treaties with the 
Americans, and intimated that if settlements were attempted 
on certain of the lands already ceded by the Indians at 
the treaty of Greenville, he and Tecumseh would go on 
the war path against the settlers. Various conferences 
were held with the Prophet, but to no avail. In 1810 a 
detachment of troops was moved to Vincennes. The Brit- 
ish, meanwhile, became very active in their overtures of 
friendship to the Indians, for it was evident that war was 
soon to be declared between their government and that of 
the United States. Tecumseh made a visit to Vincennes 
in the summer of 1811, and though he professed friendship, 
his real hostility could not be concealed. 

Tecumseh^s Speech and Actions. The character of 
the great Indian is well brought out in his speeches and 
actions, while in attendance at the various daily councils 
with Governor Harrison. Upon one occasion he said: — 

"I am a warrior, I am the head of them all, and all the 
warriors will meet together in two or three moons from 



94 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

this, then will I call fur those chiefs who sold you the land 
and shall know what to do with them. I will take no pres- 
ents from you. By taking goods from you, you will here- 
after say that with them you purchased another piece of 
land." 

At another time when he was told that the President 
would not acknowledge his claims, he said: — 

''Well, as the Great Chief is to determine the matter, 
I hope the Great Spirit will put sense enough in his head 
to induce him to direct you to give up this land. It is true 
he is far off and will not be injured by this w\ar; he may 
sit still and drink his wine while you and I fight it out." 

At the close of one of his speeches, Governor Harrison's 
aid pointed to a chair and said to Tecumseh, ''Your father 
requests you to take a seat by his side." The reply was, 
"My father! the sun is my father, and the earth is my 
mother; on her bosom I will repose." The Great Chief 
then seated himself on the bare ground. 



CHAPTER IX 

BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. THE WAR OF 1812 

Harrison Marches Against the Prophet's Town. The 

Indians under Tecumseh and the Prophet, at the Proph- 
et's town on the Wabash, near the present citj^ of Lafayette, 
became a real menace to the safety of Indiana Terri- 
tory. As earl}^ as the middle of July, 1811, the Secretary 
of War had authorized Governor Harrison to call out the 
militia and attack the Prophet's town if necessity 
demanded. A regiment of regular troops under the com- 
mand of Colonel J. P. Boyd was also at Harrison's dis- 
posal. Convinced that these Indians must be subdued if 
the territory was to have peacej Harrison called out the 
militia and started northward on September 26th, 1811. 
Early in October they encamped near the site of the present 
city of Terre Haute, and set about the erection of a fort. 
This work required three weeks, and in the meantime 
Harrison was engaged in an unsuccessful attempt to make 
a treaty with the Prophet and his brother. The fort was 
completed on the 28th of October, and at the unanimous 
request of the soldiers, it was named Fort Harrison. Leav- 
ing a small garrison at the new fort, the army continued 
its way toward the Prophet's town. The force amounted 
to 910 men, 250 of them regulars, and the remainder 
militia. 

Arrival at the Prophet's Town. As the army 
approached the encampment several small bodies of Indi- 
ans were seen, but these kept well out of the wa}^ and 
seemed merely to be spying, and not desirous of a fight. On 

95 



96 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

the 6th of November the army came in sight of the Proph- 
et's town, and when about a mile and a half from the vil- 
lage halted, and sent forward an interpreter to request a 
conference with the Prophet. The Indians attempted to 
do harm to the interpreter and his party, so Governor 
Harrison recalled them, and moved forward with the entire 
army. When near the village, an old chief appeared 
and informed the Governor that two Indians had been 
sent to meet him some days ago with a message from the 
Prophet saying that the Indians would yield to the demands 
made by the whites. Since these Indians and their mes- 
sage had never arrived, the Governor was suspicious of 
treachery, and believed an effort was being made by the 
Prophet to gain time. The army moved on to the north- 
west a short distance, where a place suitable for camp was 
found. It was a high piece of ground, heavily wooded, 
and having a small stream running along one side. 

The Army Encamps. The army encamped in order of 
battle. A hollow square was formed, with the commander 
and a body of reserve troops in the center. The men lay 
down about the camp fires with all their clothing on, and 
fully equipped with arms and ammunition. Guards were 
stationed about the camp to give warning in case of an attack. 

The Attack. Many of the private soldiers seem to 
have felt confident of an attack, and some of them slept 
lightly on acount of their fears. The officers, however, 
do not seem to have expected the attack that night. But 
the Indians had counted on just that thing, and hoped to 
take the Americans by surprise. The attack was made 
about two hours before sunrise, '^so suddenly," says Gov- 
ernor Harrison, ''that the Indians were in the camp before 
many of the men could get out of their tents." 

The Battle of Tippecanoe. Governor Harrison was up, 
and was just going to give the signal to call out the men 




TIPPECANOE MONUMENT 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE 99 

for early parade when the attack commenced. A single shot 
rang out, and then came the yells of the savages. The 
guards fled into camp with the Indians closely pursuing 
them. But in spite of the suddenness of the attack, the 
soldiers behaved splendidly, hurrying to their stations and 
meeting the enemy with courage and bravery. The dan- 
ger was increased by the fact that it was still dark, and the 
men could scarcely teU the Indians from their owm com- 
rades. So heavy was the fire at the angle of the formation 
first attacked, that the soldiers defending that quarter were 
nearly all shot down and either killed or severely wounded. 
The reserve companies were at once rushed in to fill their 
places, in order that the lines might be kept entire, and to 
prevent the Indians from rushing into the camp. When 
daylight came, several charges were made on the enemy, 
driving them off with great loss, but at the expense of 
many lives among the Americans. The Indians retired to 
their village where they hastily gathered together their 
women and children, and fled. 

The Prophet. During the battle, the Prophet stood on 
a huge rock near the battle ground chanting and praying, 
and offering up petitions to the ''Great Spirit" to make his 
people victorious. We wonder how he must have felt when 
the fleeing Indians passed his rock, and he realized that the 
day was lost. The defeat seems to have broken his spirit, 
for though he later joined the British at Detroit, he was 
never again the menace to the Americans that he had been 
in times past. His brother, Tecumseh, did not arrive in 
time for the battle, but joined the Indians later in their / 
flight. ^ 

The American Loss. The loss of the army under Gov- 
ernor Harrison amounted to thirty-seven killed in the 
battle, and one hundred and fifty-one wounded, twenty- 
five of whom afterward died of their wounds. The loss 



100 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

was heavier than the numixn' indicated, for the men who 
composed the army were the very pick of the new terri- 
tory. Among those who were kiUed were many who had 
been prominent in the pohtics and government of the 
new Territory, and who came from the best of the pioneer 
famiUes. This famous and costly battle occurred Novem- 
l)er 7. ISll. 

Indian Council. In the spring of 1812, the Indian tribes 
held a council at an Indian village on the ^lississinewa 
River, to determine hoAv they should stand in the coming 
war between Great Britain and the United States. The 
sentiment of most of the Indians was that they should 
remain neutral. Tecumseh and the Prophet both favored 
the British and later joined them. 

Preparation. Meanwhile. Governor Harrison was so 
confident of war with Great Britain that he began erecting 
forts and block-houses, strengthening the garrisons, and 
preparing the militia for war. 

War Declared. On the 18th of June, 1812, the United 
States declared war on Great Britain. Governor Harrison 
at once visited Kentucky and secured the promise of the 
Governor of that state to send volunteers in case they were 
needed for the frontier. In the next few weeks the Ameri- 
can cause in the Northwest suffered heavily. July 17th, 
the fort on ^lackinac Island was captured and the occu- 
pants massacred. On the 9th of August, the garrison of 
Fort Dearborn was defeated by a superior Indian force 
while on their ^vay to the fort at Detroit. Detroit was 
surrendered August 16, by the commandant. Captain 
Helm, ^^-ithout a gun being fired. 

The Pigeon Roost Massacre. The Indians gained con- 
fidence from the British and Indian victories, and many 
who had intended to remain neutral became hostile to the 
Americans. Thev made an unsuccessful attack on Fort 




PIGEON ROOST MONUMENT 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE 103 

Harrison. They were more successful in an attack on an 
outlying settlement in what is now Scott County. This 
place was known as Pigeon Roost Settlement, and was five 
or six miles from any other settled portion of the county. 
September 3, 1912, two men who were hunting in the 
w^oods were attacked by Indians and killed. Just as dark- 
ness was coming on, that same evening, the Indians made 
an attack on the settlement and killed twenty-four people. 
A few escaped to a block-house some miles aw^ay. The 
next day a body of armed and mounted men took up the 
trail of the Indians, but were unable to overtake them. 
The Pigeon Roost massacre caused much excitement and 
alarm on the frontier, and the settlers lived in constant 
dread until the close of the war in 1814. 

Protection of the Settlements. The settlements in 
Indiana Territory at once erected block-houses and stock- 
ades, for protection against the Indians and British. The 
block-houses were of logs and were two stories high, the 
upper story projecting over the lower, and having loop 
holes in the floor of the projection to enable those inside 
to shoot down on the attacking force. The walls of both 
stories also contained loop holes. Often the block-house 
stood alone, but sometimes it would be surrounded by a 
stockade made of split logs, planted firmly in the ground, 
and standing close together. 

Attack on Fort Harrison: On the night of the 4tli of 
September, 1812, a large body of Indians attacked Fort 
Harrison, which was then under the command of Captain 
Zachary Taylor, later President of the United States. The 
Indians set fire to one of the block-houses standing at an 
angle of the stockade, and the flames so terrified the sol- 
diers that the whole garrison would have been lost but for 
the presence of mind of the commander. His plight was 
indeed desperate, for many of his men were sick, and the 



104 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



attacking force numbered several hundred. Taylor suc- 
ceeded in preventing the spread of the fire, and erected a 
temporary barricade in place of the block-house. He held 
off the Indians until morning, when they retired. His loss 
was three men killed and two wounded. The defense of 
the fort is one of the bravest on record. 

Movements of General Harrison. In September, Gen- 
eral Harrison was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the 
Northwestern army, which at the time numbered about 
ten thousand men. The Secretary of War instructed him 




A BLOCKHOUSE 



to first take all necessary steps for the protection of the 
frontier, and then to make all possible efforts to recapture 
Detroit and invade Canada as far as the strength of his 
force would permit. Harrison first sent out several expedi- 
tions against the hostile Indians, and in the meantime sought 
to gather sufficient stores at the Rapids of the Maumee to 
make possible his march on Detroit. Winter came on and 



THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE 105 

the soldiers suffered from lack of clothing to keep them 
warm. The transportation of provisions through the snow 
became very difficult. Harrison saw that it would be 
impossible to attack Detroit before warm weather came. 

Mississinewa Expedition. Early in December, Gen- 
eral Harrison sent Lieutenant Colonel Campbell to attack 
the villages of hostile Indians on the Mississinewa River, 
in Miami County. He succeeded in destroying several of 
the villages, and was victorious over the Indians in the one 
battle which w^as fought on the expedition. His force 
numbered about 600 mounted riflemen. 

Detroit Taken. In September, 1813, Harrison reached 
Detroit, and found that the British had fled, first setting fire 
to many of the buildings and stores. He took possession of 
thejfort and pursued the retreating British army. At Mai- 
den, the battle of the Thames occured on October 6th. 
The Americans, led by General Harrison and General 
Shelby, Governor of Kentucky, won a complete victory 
over the British. In this battle Tecumseh was killed, and 
the power of the Indian confederacy broken. 

Indian Affairs. The miserable remnants of the Indian 
tribes came to General Harrison after the battle and sued 
for peace. We find no further instances in Indiana of 
organized Indian hostility. A few years later the Indians 
signed a treaty with the Government of the United States 
by which they gave up their claims to lands in Indiana, 
and agreed to move west of the Mississippi. Their final 
removal occurred in 1838. 

Peace Declared. A treaty of peace was signed with 
Great Britain, December 24, 1814, and ratified by our 
government, February 17, 1815. 



CHAPTER X 

SLAVERY IN INDIANA 

The French and Slavery. The early French settlers in 
the Northwest Territory carried on most of their trade with 
Canada to the northeast, and with Louisiana and the West 
Indies to the south. As slavery was recognized by the 
home government and practiced by the other colonies, par- 
ticularly those in the South, the settlers in the Northwest 
Tenitor}^ were not slow to adopt it. Their remoteness 
from slave marts made it impracticable to bring in large 
numbers of slaves, but they secured some directly from 
Louisiana and the West Indies. Others they secured from 
the Indians, who had captured them from slave-holding 
settlers in the older colonies. In addition, many Pawnee 
Indians were captured by other tribes and sold into slav- 
ery. They were known as Panis by the French, the term 
Pani being the French corruption of Pawnee. As early as 
1750, there were three hundred negro and sixty Pani 
slaves in five Illinois settlements. 

The English and Slavery. Just how many slaves were 
owned l:>y the citizens of Vincennes and other settlements 
in Indiana at the time the Territory passed into the hands 
of the English is not known. It is certain, however, that 
there was a considerable number. The treaty of 1763 
made special provision for the protection of slave property, 
and as England was a slave-holding nation, the practice 
was not interfered with during the English ownership of 
the Northwest. 

American Possession and Slavery. When Indiana w^as 
captured by George Rogers Clark, the rule of Virginia was 

106 



SLAVERY IN INDIANA 107 

extended over it, and since Virginia was a slave-holding 
state, there was no interference with the custom in the 
newly acquired territory. When the states that had 
claims upon the region north of the Ohio ceded their 
rights to the general government, conditions remained 
the same. 

Attitude of Early Settlers. The first settlers to come 
into Indiana and other parts of the Northwest Territory, 
after its capture and possession by the Americans, were 
mainly from Virginia, the Carolinas and Kentucky. They 
came from states where slavery was legal and recognized 
as a profitable institution. To them it seemed wholly 
desirable that slavery be continued; in fact, they could 
not believe the new territory would ever prosper without 
the introduction of slaves. It is true that among the 
early English-speaking settlers there were some who came 
into the new country to get away from the presence of 
slavery in the older settlements, but in these early days 
the anti-slavery people were few^ 

Reference to Slavery in Treaties. In the treaty of 1783, 
made at the close of the Revolutionary War, there were no 
specific statements which guaranteed to the citizens of the 
Northwest Territory property" rights in their slaves. No 
one, however, doubted that these rights were to be fully 
protected, because slavery was legally practiced in each of 
the thirteen states of the new nation. In Jay's treaty of 
1794, by which England abandoned her occupation of the 
northwestern forts, specific provision was made for the 
protection of slave property held by the former British 
subjects. 

When Virginia ceded her claims to the general gov- 
ernment, she provided ''that the French and Canadian 
inhabitants . . . who have professed themselves citi- 
zens of Virginia, shall have their possessions and titles 



108 THE STOKY OF INDIANA 

confirmed to them, and be protected in the enjoyment of 
their rights and Hberties." This was understood to cover 
possessions and titles in human beings. 

Recognition of Slavery by the Government. In vari- 
ous measures passed or discussed by Congress previous to 
1787, the expressions ''free males" and ''free male inhabi- 
tants" occur frequently. In the great Ordinance of 1787, 
the expression "free male inhabitants" is found. These 
things indicate that the Federal Government fully recog- 
nized the existence of slavery in the Northwest Territory. 

The Ordinance of 1787. The following is the Sixth 
Article of the Ordinance of 1787^ — probably the most impor- 
tant portion of that important document:— 

"Art. 6. There shall be neither slavery nor involun- 
tary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the 
punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted; provided, always, that any person escap- 
ing into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully 
claimed in an}^ one of the original States, such fugitive may 
be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claim- 
ing his or her labor or service as aforesaid." 

This states with apparent clearness, that slavery and 
involuntary servitude shall forever be prohibited in the 
Northwest Territory,, but it did not have the effect of 
immediately eliminating this institution. Slavery con- 
tinued to exist f(;r some years after the passage of this act. 
It is true, that after the Ordinance of 1787 went into effect, 
slaves could not ])e legally brought into Indiana or any 
other part of the Northwest Territory. But, legally or not, 
quite a number of slaves were brought in and held by their 
masters. Later, various ways were found to evade the 
law, so that although a large number of slaves was never 
found in Indiana settlements, a few were held by unscrupu- 
lous persons until after the territory became a state. 



SLAVERY IN INDIANA 109 

Territorial Government and Slavery. The territorial 
government of Indiana made no serious attempt to inter- 
fere with the ownership of slaves. Many of the officials 
were from Virginia, and their training and experience made 
them ardent supporters of the institution of slavery. The 
terms of the Ordinance of 1787 were evaded by the passage 
of laws of indenture. These laws provided that slaves 
could be brought into the state and held for sixty days, 
and then removed from the state without loss of property 
interest. It was possible, however, during the sixty days 
of unqualified slavery, for the slave to enter into an agree- 
ment with his master by which he was to serve him for a 
number of years, usually a long period. The law also 
affected the children of those indentured. Male children 
were held until they reached the age of thirty, and female 
children until they were twenty-eight. The conditions 
under the indenture laws were about as bad as those of 
unqualified slavery. 

Petitions to Congress. Before the passage of the inden- 
ture law by the first territorial legislature, several petitions 
were presented to Congress by citizens of Indiana Terri- 
tory, praying that the Sixth Article of the Ordinance might 
be set aside, so that slavery could be legalized. In 1802, 
Governor Harrison called a convention to consider the 
expediency of the admission of slavery into the territory. 
This convention assembled on December 20, 1802, and on 
December 28 they agreed upon their memorial to Con- 
gress. This document explains the calling of the conven- 
tion, and then proceeds to the slavery question as follows: 
''The Sixth Article of Compact between the United States 
and the people of the Territory, which declares there shall 
be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in it, has pre- 
vented the Country from populating, and been the Reason 
of driving many valuable Citizens possessing Slaves to the 



no THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Spanish side* of the Mis.sissi])])i, most of wlioiu hut for the 
prohibition contained in th(^ (^rcUnance Avouhl have settled 
in this Territory, and the consequences of keeping that 
prohibition in force will be that of obliging the numerous 
Class of Citizens disposed to emigrate to seek an Asylum 
in that country where they can be permitted to enjoy 
their property. Your memorialists, however, and the peo- 
ple the}^ represent, do not wish for a repeal of the article 
entirely, but that it may be suspended for the Term of Ten 
Years and then to be again in force, but that slaves brought 
into the Territory during the Continuance of this Suspen- 
sion, and their progeny, may be considered and continued 
in the same state of Servitude, as if they remained in those 
parts of the United States where Slavery is permitted and 
from whence they may have removed." There is no grad- 
ual emancipation scheme in this petition, but the thing 
asked is slavery, absolute and unending. The petition of 
1803 asked that the Sixth Article of the Ordinance be sus- 
pended for a period of ten years. The petition of 1805 
prayed for the right of citizens of any state to carry their 
slaves unmolested anywhere w^ithin the confines of the 
United States. By this petition, the people of Indiana 
hoped to get an act through making it legal for the citi- 
zens of other states to bring their slaves with them into 
the new territory. The last petition, to Congress, a lengthy 
and ingenious appeal for the toleration of slavery in the 
Indiana Territory, was sent in the year 1807. Like the 
other petitions of similar nature, it did not meet with 
favorable action. 

Governor Harrison's Attitude on Slavery. The atti- 
tude of Governor Harrison on slavery was never very 
definite on one side or the other. It seems that, per- 
sonally, he was a very strong opponent, but that he never 
let his personal feelings color his political actions to any 



SLAVERY IN INDIANA 111 

great extent. It is certain that he l)eHeve(l in the theory 
of a constitutional right of the Southern j^eople to carry 
their slaves wherever they went. In one campaign, mak- 
ing answer to the charge of being a pro-slavery man, he 
said: ''I am accused of being friendly to slavery. From 
my earliest youth to the present moment I have been the 
ardent friend of human liberty. At the age of eighteen I 
became a member of an Abolition Society established at 
Richmond, Virginia, the object of which w^as to amelior- 
ate the condition of slaves and procure their freedom ])y 
every legal means. . . . The obligations which I then 
came under I have faithfully performed. I have been the 
means of liberating many slaves, but never placed one in 
bondage." In a later campaign, when Harrison was accused 
of abolitionist tendencies, his political friends succeeded in 
breaking down the force of this preceding statement. Har- 
rison was too tactful a politician to ever place himself on 
one side or the other of such a disputed question. His 
personal feelings were undoubtedly against slavery, and 
when he felt politics permitted, he did what he could 
against the institution. 

Anti-Slavery Sentiment in Indiana. Indiana Territory 
was in a peculiar situation. The slave-holders who 
emigrated from the older states could not bring their 
slaves with them, and hence went elsewhere to settle. The 
emigrants from the northeastern states, who were in the 
main opposed to slavery, were distrustful of the territory 
because of its known slavery sentiments, and so stopped 
in Ohio. The population grew slowly, but the growth was 
largely anti-slavery people, for, while the slave-holders 
could not come in and bring their slaves, the anti-slavery 
people could settle in the territory, if they were willing to 
take the risk. The repeated attempts of the believers in 
slavery to legalize the institution finally aroused its oppon- 



112 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

ents. A considerable number of the settlers from the South 
had come from their homes because of a dislike for slavery, 
and they formed staunch supporters for the northern anti- 
slavery men. Within the state were several communities 
of Quakers whose religion was directly opposed to the 
holding of human beings in bondage. 

Campaign of Randolph and Jennings. When, in 1809, 
the pro-slaver}^ people put up as their candidate for dele- 




JONATHAN JENNINGS 

gate to Congress, Thomas Randolph, the anti-slavery peo- 
ple brought out as his opponent Jonathan Jennings, a young 
lawyer of Clark County. Jennings was a man of unusual 
personality, having the power to "bring all men to him," 



SLAVERY IN INDIANA 113 

as one of his opponents once said. He was forceful and 
energetic, and inspired trust in those with whom he came in 
contact. Above all, he was a man of the people, and not 
an aristocrat as was Randolph. Jennings made a remark- 
able campaign. He traveled over the state on horseback 
and presented his cause to the voters. He was so eloquent 
and earnest that he w^on friends everywhere. Many 
attempts were made to cause him to withdraw from the 
race. He was threatened with personal violence, and 
efforts were made to provoke him to a duel. In spite of all 
these things, he continued in the race and was elected. 
Randolph contested the election before the House. The 
committee to which the contest was referred reported in 
favor of unseating Jennings. The House, however, refused 
to accept the report, and confirmed his election. Jennings 
was reelected in 1811, 1813, and 1815. In all of these elec- 
tions the main question at issue was slavery. Although 
the opponents of slavery won in four elections, the ques- 
tion would not down. 

Constitutional Prohibition of Slavery. The final settle- 
ment did not come until 1816, when the constitution of the 
State was adopted. In that document this significant 
clause occurs: 

''There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servi- 
tude in this State, otherwise than for the punishment of 
crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
nor shall any indenture of any negro or mulatto, hereafter 
made and 'executed out of the bounds of this State be of 
any validity within the State." 

Although the state constitution clearly prohibited slav- 
ery, it is a curious fact that slaves continued to be held 
within the State for a number of years. The census of 1820 
credited Indiana with 190 slaves. So far as we know, the last 
sale of a slave in the State occurred in October, 1813, three 



114 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

years before the adoption of the .state constitution. Every 
vestige of slavery disappeared in 1843, by the death of the 
last slave held within the boundaries of the state. 

The Underground Railway. It was about this same 
time that the ''Underground Railway" became an impor- 
ant factor in the slavery controversy between North and 
South. The Underground Railway was not, of course, 
''underground" at all. Runaway slaves who reached the 
northern states made their way to the homes of abolition- 
ists, who concealed them by day and carried them on to 
the house of some other abolitionist in the night. So suc- 
cessful were these opponents of slavery that they became 
quite bold in their operations, and organized the business 
of aiding escaped slaves into a system. The name originated 
through the remark of a slave owner who had traced an 
escaped slave to a certain house, only to find the fugitive 
gone when a search was made. Much baffled, the Southerner 
exclaimed "There must be an underground road leading 
away from this place." The name spread, and finally 
changed to ''Underground Railway," and as such the 
system came to be known all over the country. 

The Quakers. Indiana played an important part in 
the Underground Railway system. Many settlements of 
Friends, or Quakers, were found in the state, and, as in the 
the East, the Quaker city of Philadelphia was an abolition- 
ist center, so these settlements in Indiana became local 
abohtionist centers, exerting a wide influence over the state. 

Extent of System. We do not know at what time the 
organized movement to aid escaping slaves was really 
started, for it all had to be done with great secrecy. We 
do know, however, that by 1840 Indiana was covered with 
a network of lines of the Underground system, so well 
organized and managed that very few slaves who escaped 
to our state were ever retaken by their masters. 



SLAVERY IN INDIANA 115 

Levi Coffin of Newport. Old Newport, in Wayne 
County, the name of which has since been changed to 
Fountain City, was one of the important points of the 
system. Levi Coffin, who became one of the great aboU- 
tionist figures, and the so-called ' 'President" of the Under- 
ground Railway, lived at Newport for many years. He 
came there in 1826 from North Carolina, and lived in the 
town until 1847, when he moved to Cincinnati to engage 
in the wholesale business of handling goods manufactured 
by free labor. At Cincinnati he became even more active 
in aiding escaping slaves, and it is said of him that, alto- 
gether, at Newport and Cincinnati, he aided more than 
three thousand slaves in their escape to Canada and free- 
dom. 

Operation of System. Three lines of the system con- 
verged at Levi Coffin's house at Newport. One was from 
Cincinnati, one from Madison, and one from Jefferson- 
ville. A ''train" was made up of one or more of the cov- 
ered wagons used by immigrants. Since these wagons 
were always coming North with movers, they excited little 
suspicion. The blacks were concealed under straw or bed- 
ding, and were kept by day at some "station," and then 
carried on to another station the next night. Those who 
kept the stations were always ready to receive and care 
for fugitives. We are told that a light tap at Levi Coffin's 
door at any time of the night brought forth the good man 
to admit the escaping blacks to his house, where his wife, 
known as "Aunt Katie," was always ready to prepare 
food and beds. 

Important Stations. Old Newport was the most 
important point of the Underground Railway in Indiana. 
Other important towns in the system were Evansville, 
Jeffersonville, Salem, Columbus, Gre.ensburg, Blooming- 
dale, Richmond, Madison, LaFayette, and Indianapolis. 



CHAPTER XI 

INDIANA BECOMES A STATE 

Legislature of 1813. During the first year of the war 
of 1812 the Territorial legislature held no meeting, but 
the year following General Gibson, who was acting Gov- 
ernor in the absence of Governor Harrison, called the law 
makers together for what proved a very important session. 
Thirty-two laws were enacted dealing with various ques- 
tions of vital importance to the settlers. The most impor- 
tant of these laws concerned the organization of counties 
and the establishment of county seats, the fixing of the 
time for court sessions, the building of new roads and the 
improvement of old ones. 

Capital Changed to Corydon. Probably the most 
important act of the Territorial legislature of 1813, was 
the enactment of a law changing the capital of the Terri- 
tory from Vincennes to Corydon. Vincennes, in the south- 
west corner of the Territory, was a great distance from 
some of the outlying cUstricts, while Corydon was nearer 
the center of territorial population and could be more easily 
reached. Vincennes was quite a populous center and was 
the home of a great many of the public men of the Terri- 
tory. These men were off fighting for their country, and 
had no say in the matter, while the delegates from the out- 
lying counties were strong in their arguments for the 
removal of the capital. So Corydon became the capital 
city — or rather the capital village^ — ^but held that distinc- 
tion only twelve years, for in 1825 Indianapolis became 
the permanent capital of the state. 

116 



INDIANA BECOMES A STATE 



117 



State House at Corydon. A state house was built at 
Corydon, being completed in 1815. It is still standing, 
and since the people of Corydon take a pride in its preser- 
vation, it will doubtless continue to stand for many years 
to come. It was built of stone quarried from the nearby 




OLD STATE CAPITOL, CORYDON 

hills, and is a small, two-story structure, very insignifi- 
cant when compared with the great building which now 
serves the same purpose. Probably the whole of this first 
state house could be set up in one of the main corridors of 
the present building. 

But though very small and plain, the little building at 
Corydon saw some great days, and its walls echoed some 



118 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



great debates and speeches. Its simple, bare interior would 
not now be even sufficient for the offices of one of the 
state departments, and certainly would be too small for 
a legislative session, but in those days, the counties were 
few and the number of delegates correspondingly small. 
But the problems that confronted them were big problems, 
and they met them in a simple, straightforward way that 
gave to our state a splendid foundation. 

Governor Posey. In 1813, Thomas Posey was 
appointed Governor of Indiana Territory. He was a Vir- 




THOMAS POSEY 



ginian and had served as an officer in the Revolution. At 
the time of his appointment he was senator from his native 



INDIANA BECOMES A STATE 119 

state. Governor Posey reached Vincennes on the 25th of 
May, and began his duties at once. 

Legislature Meets at Cory don. The legislature met 
at Corydon for the first time in December, and the new 
governor delivered a carefully prepared message urging 
certain laws which he thought would be for the good of the 
Territory. In charging the legislature with its importance 
and duty. Governor Posey said: ''Much depends upon you, 
gentlemen, in bringing to maturity such laws as will have 
a tendency to render equal justice to each individual of 
the community, and promote the general welfare of the 
Territory." The Governor then went on to urge revision 
of the laws dealing with the courts, the passing of laws 
for the betterment of roads, and for the establishment of 
public schools. 

Law Against Duelling. The session of the legislature 
closed on the 6th of January. Among the laws passed, one 
of the most interesting at the present time is the law 
regarding duelling. At that day duelling was a great evil 
in all parts of the country. If two gentlemen had a quarrel, 
or one fancied the other had insulted him, they settled their 
differences in a personal combat. The evils of such a mode 
of settling troubles are easily seen. The feeling against 
duelling was strong and had been especially so since Burr 
had killed Hamilton. The new law required each terri- 
torial officer to take an oath against duelling, and to 
promise neither to carry a challenge, nor to fight in single 
combat during his continuance in office. 

Conditions Begin to Improve. Early in the year 1814, 
the condition of the settlements in Indiana Territory 
began to improve. General Harrison's successful move- 
ments against the British, which we have already described, 
and the lessened danger from hostile Indians, gave the 
emigrants the courage to make Indiana their goal. These 



120 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

new settlers were largely from the East instead of from the 
South, as the greater number of the earlier settlers had 
been. They were sturdy, energetic and ambitious, and in 
every way desirable citizens for the coming state. 

Legislative Business. The general assembly of 1814 
established a banking system, but other than that we do 
not find any important legislation. The session of 1815 
is the one that interests us most, for it was this legislature 
that secured the admission of Indiana to the Union. 
Strangely enough, Governor Posey did not allude in his 
message to the matter of the change from territorial to 
state government. He urged the legislature to turn its 
attention to the promotion of public education and the 
condition of roads and highways. Of the thirty-one laws 
passed, none were of great importance, for the attention 
of the legislature was concerned chiefly with the matter 
of gaining admission to the Union. 

Petition to Congress to Become a State. The memorial 
sent by the legislature of Indiana Territory to Congress 
stated that the Territory now had more than the sixty 
thousand free white inhabitants required for a territory 
to gain admission to the Union, and asked for authority to 
hold an election of delegates for a convention which ^ 'shall 
determine, by a majority of the votes of all the members 
elected, whether it shall be expedient or inexpedient to 
go into a state government, and if it be determined expe- 
dient, the convention thus assembled shall have the power 
to form a constitution and frame a government." On the 
matter of slavery, the memorial is very clear. ''And 
whereas the inhabitants of this territory are principally 
composed of emigrants from every part of the Union, and 
as various in their customs and sentiments as in their per- 
sons, we think it prudent, at this time, to express to the 
general government our attachment to the fundamental 



INDIANA BECOMES A STATE 123 

principles of legislation prescribed by Congress in their 
ordinance for the government of this territory, particularly 
as respects personal freedom and involuntary servitude, and 
hope they may be continued as the basis of the constitution." 

Congress Grants Permission for a Convention. Jona- 
than Jennings was sent as territorial delegate to Congress, 
and was made chairman of the committee to which the 
above memorial was referred. A bill was passed by Con- 
gress and approved by the President on April 19, 1816, 
which authorized the people of Indiana to hold a con- 
stitutional convention and to be admitted to the Union 
on an equal footing with the other states. 

The Delegates to the Convention. An election was 
held and the delegates assembled in convention early in 
June. The meeting place was the little state house at 
Corydon. These delegates had traveled from all parts of 
the territory and they crowded the little village to its 
utmost capacity. They were grave, serious men, and we 
today, would find them a very strange looking lot, so 
greatly have manners and dress changed in the last hun- 
dred years. The refinements of civilized life were prac- 
tically unknown to these early lawmakers. Dress was for 
practical purposes, and no one was much given to fashion. 
Clothing of homespun was the common apparel of the men, 
though some wore the buckskin garments of the pioneer. 
A few of the men from the more thickly settled counties 
boasted garments made by tailors, but at that time in 
Indiana the well-dressed man was regarded with sus- 
picion, as too much above the common people, and as a 
''fine gentleman,'' with the airs and snobbishness of an 
aristocrat. Life was rough, but it was democratic, and at 
the core it was sound and true, for rough as they were in 
appearance, these early Indianians were men of common 
sense and honest purpose. 



124 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

The Constitutional Convention. After the convention 
had assembled, each delegate produced his certificate of 
election, properly signed, and took the oath of allegiance 
to the United States. The constitutional convention was 
then formally opened. Jonathan Jennings was chosen 
President. This was a wise choice, for he was one of the 
great men of his time. Before a constitution could be 
drafted the convention had to determine whether a state 
government should be formed. The close relation between 
the individual delegates and the people they represented, 
made the vote as representative of the wishes of all these 
people as though the}^ had been there to speak for them- 
seh^s. When a ballot was taken it showed that a large 
majority favored a state government. 

The Constitution. The convention at once began the 
work of drtifting the constitution. This important work 
lasted unlil the latter part of June, when the convention 
closed. Ma ny of the sessions were held out of doors, for the 
weather was very hot, and the little state house stuffy and 
close. The outdoor meeting place was under the spreading 
branches of a great elm tree, which is still standing, and is 
known as the ''Constitutional Elm." 

A Worthy Document. The constitution itself is a mas- 
terpiece of simple and concise style. Its principles are of 
unquestioned strength and integrity. It is a fitting monu- 
ment to the worthy men who framed it, and whose ideas 
of what a constitution for our state should be were founded 
upon the theories of American independence and a famil- 
iarty with the United States constitution and the ordi- 
nance of 1787. 'Tn the clearness and conciseness of its 
style, in the comprehensive and just provisions which it 
made for the maintenance of civil and religious liberty, in 
its mandates which were designed to protect the rights of 
of the people, collectively and individually, and to pro- 



INDIANA BECOMES A STATE 127 

vide for the public welfare, the constitution which was 
formed in 1816, was not inferior to any of the state consti- 
tutions which were in existence at that time."* 

Indiana Becomes a State. The first legislature to meet 
under the new constitution assembled on November 4, 
1816. Three days later the new governor, Jonathan Jen- 
nings, took the oath of office. The formal admission of 
the state to the Union by Congress, occurred on December 
11th of the same year. 

* Dillon's History of Indiana. Edition of 1859. P. 559. 



CHAPTER XII 

PIONEER LIFE 

Increase in Population. When Indiana became a state 
the population was between sixty and seventy-five thou- 
sand. At the time of George Rogers Clark's conquest of 
the Northwest, the whites in the territory now comprising 




BUILDING A LOG CABIN 

our state did not number a tenth of this figure. Fifty 
thousand immigrants seem very few for a period of three 
decades, but, when we stop to think of the diflficulties con- 
fronting the pioneers, we wonder that so many had the 

128 



PIONEER LIFE 129 

courage to make the lon^ journey filled with hardsliip and 
danger, and with years of toil and even greater hardship 
confronting them in the new land. 

The Pioneers. Who, then, were the num and women 
that left the comfortable settlements in the East and South 
for the wilderness settlements of Indiana? They were not 
wealthy, but they were rich in courage. They had great 
faith in their own powers and believed themselves able to 
wrest homes and wealth from the rough country where 
they were going to seek their fortunes. The pioneer is 
always a splendid type, for cowards do not venture as he 
must, and the selfish will not give up what he must sacri- 
fice. So he is a man of courage and sacrifice— one who 
dares and sacrifices for the future good. 

Success of Early Immigration. The pioneers, who 
made our great state, were of this class. They came from 
the South, and East, bringing in their veins some of the 
best blood of each section. From the South came young 
men of good families who wished a new country wherein to 
make their fortunes. From the same section came another 
class who were contemptuously called ''poor whites" by the 
wealthier southerners. These people were the descend- 
ants of indentured servants who had sold themselves 
to serve for a given period, that they might gain passage 
to the new world. In the older southern communities, 
where all the work was done by slaves, these free white 
men of small means, or no means at all, had no chance 
for advancement, or for earning a decent living. They 
were, however, often men of courage and ability, and the 
best of them sought opportunity in the new country to the 
west. Some of our greatest men have come from this 
stock, Lincoln, of course, being the greatest of them. 
From Pennsylvania, New York, and the New England 
states, Indiana drew other immigrants who proved them- 



180 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

selves to hv. among her best citizens. The state was a melt- 
ing-pot for all the elements of the new world, and the 
cosmopolitan character of this early population had much 
to do with the future greatness of the commonwealth. 

Perils Encountered by Settlers. The journey to the 
new home was made by boat, or in a covered wagon. Until 
the final treaty with the Indians at Greenville, either way 
of coming to Indiana was very dangerous, especially 
for those coming from the East. We might say that every 
mile along the banks of the Ohio, from Pittsburgh to the 
falls, has Avitnessed some bloody encounter between emi- 
grants and Indians. At one point not very far from where 
Cincinnati now stands, is a high rock which the Indians 
used for a spying place. When they saw a boat coming, 
they carefully investigated its size and the number of its 
defenders, and if they found the boat poorly defended, or 
if their own strength was such as to warrant an attack, 
they fell upon it, murdered the whites, scalped them, and 
caried off the boat's cargo. 

A True Story of an Encounter with Indians. Many 
thrilling stories of encounters with Indians were told by 
the old settlers to their children and grandchildren, who 
are the grandfathers and grandmothers of today. One 
of the most interesting of these true stories shows how the 
superstition of the Indians was used to save the lives of a 
score of white immigrants. A party made up of two fami- 
lies was floating down the Ohio in two flatboats. They 
had passed the site of the present city of Cincinnati in 
safety, when one night they were alarmed by the cries of 
Indians who were holding a war dance around a huge bon- 
fire on the shore. Fortunately the night was dark, and no 
lights were showing on board either of the boats. The 
rear boat, on which were the horses, cattle and other live- 
stock, was pulled up closc^ to tlie first boat and the two 



PIONEER LIFE 



131 



W{'r(' made fast togothcr. 



Tlicn, praying that they might 
not 1)0 observed, the httle party started to float past the 
scene of the Indian revels. The light of the huge bonfire 
was too strong for them to get by unnoticed, and when 
directly opposite the fire they were ordered to put into 
shore and surrender. The head of the little party whis- 




AN OLDTIME FIREPLACE 



pered to every one to remain well concealed and utter no 
sound. When they received no answer to the command, 
the Indians were clearly mystified. They held a brief 
council, and then put out in their canoes. The boat 
floated on, silently and without any sign of life on board. 
The Indians came up, and then awed by the silence they 
halted. A few, braver than the rest, came close and peered 
in. No one was to be seen, for the occupants were care- 
fully hidden. Perhaps the savages thought it a boat full 
of dead men; at any rate they paddled away and returned 
to the camp fire. The little party, saved by this strategy, 
continued the journey in safety, and found pleasant homes 
near one of the settlements in the southern part of the state. 



132 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



Indian Encounters Usually Fatal. More oftc^n the 
iininigrants were not so fortunate^ as upon this occasion. 
When they had to engage the IntUans in a fight, the whole 
party usually suffered death, or captivity, which was often 
worse than death. The flat boats were well built for defense, 
but when attacked by several canoes, full of savages, the 
case was very nearly hopeless. If the boat had sufficient 
defenders able to handle guns, the Indians might suffer 
such loss that they would retreat and give up the fight. 
But too often they overwhelmed the whites and murdered, 
scalped, and robbed them. 

Flat Boats. The boats, in which these perilous journeys 
were made, were rough craft, little more than rafts, and 




COMING TO INDIANA 



very much like rafts in construction. When several fam- 
ilies were to make the journey, they built a large raft 
of logs securely lashed together, put a railing around the 



PIONEER LIFE 



133 



outer edge and erected a cabin for shelter in the center. 
Sometimes the boats were more on the plan of house- 
boats, and were built of lumber instead of logs. 

Traveling by Wagon. The immigrants coming from the 
South could not use the water-ways, and so came in wagons, 
or on foot, with, their possessions packed on the backs of 
horses or cattle. The wagon was covered ^^^th a heavy 
canvas top and served for the shelter of the family at night 




TRAVELING BY WAGON 



as well as in day time. It was usually drawn by oxen, for 
though slower, they could endure better than horses the 
hardships of the poor roads and scanty food. Traveling 
l3y wagon was far harder than traveling by boat. The 
country had no roads, as we think of roads today. Instead, 
there were blazed trails, or a trackless wilderness through 
which the settler must find his own way. The blazed trail 
was but a marked path made by some previous traveler, 
who had cut a portion of the bark with his axe from the 



134 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

trees along his way, as guides to those who would follow 
after him. The trail was full of undergrowth, led over 
steep hills, through creeks and across rivers. When a creek 
or river was reached, the best fording place was carefully 
marked, in order to prevent a later traveler from selecting 
a place for his crossing that might have dangerous holes 
in it, or be too deep for the wagon. Despite the marked 
fording place, the careful immigrant usually tried the ford 
thoroughly before he attempted to cross it with his wagon. 
Unhitching one of the horses or oxen, as the case might be, 
the head of the party carefully tested every foot of the 
way across the stream, then if the ford was satisfactory, 
returned, hitched up the team again, and crossed with the 
wagon. If the river bed had changed and the ford was 
impassable, the immigrant had to try different places 
along the stream until he found one where he could cross 
in safet}^ This often consumed much time and involved 
not a little danger. Some streams could not be forded, 
and when travelers came to such streams the only thing 
to do was to build a raft and ferry the wagon and its load 
across. The horses or oxen usually swam across in the 
wake of the raft. 

Corduroy Roads. Sometimes, in wet weather, the 
ground of the trail became so soft that wagon and team 
mired, and the immigrant had difficulty in making a few 
miles progress a day. On such occasions he resorted to the 
plan of laying brush and small saplings along the road he 
was to follow. These prevented both team and wagon 
from sinking so deep in the soft ground, and made progress 
much easier. Later, after some of the settlements had 
])ecome permanent villages, the pioneers applied this plan 
to their road making, laying split logs of small size along 
in an orderly track, and using this for a road. These roads 
were known as corduroy roads. They were very rough and 



PIONEER LIFE 



135 



bumpy, but they kept the teams from miring, and the 
pioneers doubtless found them a great convenience. 

The Half-Faced Camp. When the pioneer family 
found a portion of land that suited their needs, they 
stopped, and began the erection of some sort of a shelter. 
They were always careful, of course, to take land which 
they knew was not claimed by some one else, and usually 
made certain of the free lands before leaving the last settle- 




A HALF-FACED CAMP 



ment. The more industrious of the settlers built log houses 
as soon as they had selected their land. Some, worn out 
by the long journey, were content to continue living in the 
covered wagon, or in a half-faced camp. The half-faced 
camp was a rude shelter made of small logs or saplings. It 
resembled a shed, and was left open on one side. The 
ground served as a floor, though it was sometimes cov- 
ered with skins by way of carpet. For l)eds, piles of 
branches were laid along the wall and covered with moss 



136 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

and leaves, over which the regular bedding was spread. 
The open side of the camp was partly curtained with can- 
vas, or skins sewed together. There was no fireplace, and 
the fire was built before the opening, where the heat would 
be thrown into the shed. When the wind came from the 
direction opposite the opening, the smoke came into the 
shed too, and the family had to move out and sit on the 
other side of the fire. The half-faced camp was a poor 
makeshift for a house, yet it served very well for summer, 
and many of the pioneers who arrived in spring, or early 
summer, preferred to live in such a shelter until cold 
weather, giving the time that would be required for build- 
ing a house to getting in crops that would help sustain the 
family through the winter. We are told that Abraham 
Lincoln's father, who is noted in history chiefly as Lincoln's 
father, allowed his family to live through their first winter in 
Spencer County, Indiana, in just such a shelter. Most of 
the pioneers were of a different type, and if the permanent 
cabin was not built when the family first took up their resi- 
dence on a piece of land, it was erected before cold weather, 
and in time to give the good housewife opportunity for her 
preparations for the winter. 

The Log Cabin. These houses in which our forefathers 
lived were built of logs, notched, so as to fit more closely 
together, and having the spaces between the logs filled in 
with chinking, and then plastered up with mud to make the 
wall solid and keep out the cold. Where field stone could 
not be found, or the builders did not wish to take the time 
to put up a stone chimney, the chimney and fireplace were 
built of sticks laid crosswise on each other and heavily 
plastered with clay on the inside. After a short time the 
fire hardened the clay and the chimney served quite as well 
as though it had been made of brick or stone. One can 
still see these chimneys of sticks and clay on some of the 



PIONEER LIFE 



137 



negro cabins of the South. They are said to draw splen- 
didly, and seldom, if ever, to catch afire. 

Inside the Cabins. The interiors of these log houses 
were rough, but they were homelike, and the pioneer 
housewives usually kept them neat and attractive. The 
floor was commonly of clay, tramped hard. Sometimes there 
was a puncheon floor, made of split logs laid smooth side 
up. In the smaller cabins the door was the only opening 
to let in light, but most of the cabins boasted a window 
made by cutting out a section of one of the logs and cov- 
ering the opening with greased paper. The fireplace, 
which occupied one side of the room, was large enough to 
stand in. 

The Furniture. The furniture was largely homemade. 
Coming from such great distances, the pioneers were sel- 




A HOMEMADE BED 



dom able to bring any furniture with them. A few of the 
wealthier settlers in southern Indiana, some of whom at 
Vincennes, Madison, and other older settlements, built 
pretentious houses, brought with them from Kentucky, or 



138 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Virginia, the handsome mahogany furniture of the period 
which we today prize so highly. But the greater number 
of the settlers brought only a few pewter plates and spoons, 
some steel knives and forks, tin cups, and such bedding as 
could be stored in the crowded wagon. The other furniture 
was made by the settler with the lew tools he had, and the 
wood that the uncut forests offered him in such abundance. 
Beds were built in with the house. In a corner of the 
cabin, four or five feet from one wall and six or seven from 
another, a post was driven in the ground. This was 
allowed to protrude about two feet, and from the top of it 
ran two heavy pieces to each of the walls. On this frame 
were strung heavy cords, or thongs, to form a thick net- 
work, serving the place of our present day springs. A tick 
was filled with straw or corn husks, and on tcp of that was 
placed a feather bed. The housewife often wove her own 
blankets and sheets, and always made her own quilts, 
putting into them much painstaking work and care. After 
the country became more thickly settled, weavers were 
found in all the communities, who wove bedspreads, famil- 
iarly^ known as coverlets. These, next to her quilts, were 
the pride of the pioneer housewife. In addition to beds, 
rude chairs, a table, some shelves against the wall, later 
a chest of drawers was made. The kettle hung over the 
fire on a hook called a crane. 

Cooking. The cooking was done in the kettle and 
before the open fire. Wheat bread w^as a luxury. The 
common bread of every day was made from corn meal. In 
the early days, l)efore grist mills were established, the 
meal was made at home, sometimes by grating the corn 
while it was soft, but more often by pounding it in a rude 
mortnr. To make this mortar, a stump, standing close to 
a small sapling, was burned out in such a way that a hol- 
low, bowl-shaped place was formed. Then a rope was tied 



PIONEER LIFE 



139 



to the sapling, well up toward the top, and a smooth stone 
was fastened to the other end. The sapling bent down and 
acted as a spring, permitting the housewife, or one of the 
children, to move the stone up and down without much 
effort, letting it fall each time on the grain in the bowl- 
shaped opening of the stump. When the corn had been 




AN EARLY GRAIN MILL 
(From "Stories of Pioneer Life," by permission of the publisjiers, D. C. Heath & Co.) 

pounded fine enough, it was ready to be made into bread. 
The meal was mixed with salt and water to form a stiff 
dough, and then moulded into cakes which were put on 
clean, smooth clapboards and set up Ix^fore the fu'v to 
bake. When one side was do.no, the cakes were turned 
and the other side put to the fire. Bread of this sort was 



140 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

called ''johnny cake." Sometimes the pioneer housewife 
brought with her to the new home a heavy iron spider in 
which corn bread could be baked. The spider was like a 
skillet, only deeper, and had three or four iron legs that 
made it possible to set it in the fire, or over coals pulled 
out on the hearth. Coals were heaped around and on top 
of it, and it made a very good oven in which to bake bread. 
When the corn bread was baked in a spider in little loaves, 
it was called *'dodger." Potatoes were baked in the ashes, 
or boiled in the iron pot. Homemade hominy formed a 
valuable part of the diet, as it could be easily made and 
was a satisfying and nourishing article of food. 

Food Supply. The pioneers could not buy meat of the 
butcher, as we can today. But the forests abounded in wild 
game, and only those who were lazy needed to go without 
meat. Deer, bear, rabbits, squirrels, wild tufkeys and 
other fowl were found in great numbers. The pioneers 
usually brought chickens with them and in a few years had 
large flocks of poultry. Sometimes they brought cows, 
sheep and swine, but the cows and sheep were too valuable 
for other purposes to be used as food, and the swine were 
a source of ready money at the nearest settlement, so the 
farmer rarely ate much of the pork himself. The smaller 
game provided fresh meat, and the poultry yard and wild 
birds furnished plenty of fowl. If he was industrious, the 
pioneer could have a bountiful table, with many things 
upon it which we today would consider luxuries. 

Clearing the Land. After the house was built, it was 
necessary to clear the land before any farming could be 
done. It sometimes happened that the settler chanced 
upon an Indian meadow — a cleared tract that the Indians 
had once cultivated. But usually the land had to be 
cleared before planting was possible. When the trees on 
a large tract had l^eeri cut, the branches trimmed, and the 



PIONEER LIFE 



141 



l)rusli burned, the pioneer had a log roHing, to whicli all 
the neighbors were invited. While the men rolled the logs 
into great piles to be burned, and the children played a])out 
at hide-and-seek and other games, the women made ready 




^%f:*^W' 



A PIONEER HUNTER 

a plentiful repast. The event was quite a social occasion, 
for the pioneers found it necessary in their busy lives to 
combine their play with their work. When the logs were 
piled up, the piles were fired, and burned for several days. 
As the neighbors went home through the dusk, the glow of 
the flames lighted the sky as though some big building 
were burning. 



142 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Planting and Caring for the Crops. iVfter the ground 
WHS plowed and prepared, oats and wheat were sown broad- 
cast, that is, the seed scattered by hand. In place of a 
harrow, brush were tied together and dragged over the 
seed, thus covering it lightly with soil. Corn and vege- 
tables were cultivated with a hoe. After the crops were 
planted, constant watching Avas necessary to keep away 
the numerous pests. Crows and blackbirds were ever 
ready to dig up the seeds, or to tear up the little sprouts, 
at the root of which the seed still clung. Later, when the 
grain was ripe, the birds were just as great a nuisance, for 
they hovered over the fields, ready to take their share if 
opportunity offered. Grain was too precious to feed to the 
birds, so the children were put at the task of frightening 
them away. Pounding on tin cans and yelling were the 
favorite methods of the boys and girls assigned to this 
task. 

Cutting and Threshing Grain. When the wheat was 
ripe it was cut by hand with a sickle, tied in bundles, and 
then placed in shocks. Later, the cradle came into use, 
but it was many years before the invention of the self- 
binding reapers in use today. The cradle was like a scythe, 
but had in addition, a set of long wooden fingers parallel 
to the blade which were designed to catch and hold the 
grain. The threshing machine is also a comparatively 
recent invention, and in the days of the pioneers thresh- 
ing was a long and rather troublesome process. The grain 
was spread out on the floor of a shed, or on the hard, bare 
ground, and beaten with a flail. The flail was made by 
fastening a piece of hickory wood to a stout handle with a 
leather strap or thong. The end piece had plenty of play, 
and could be swung about in all directions. The wheat 
was l)eaten with this instrmnent imtil the grain was sep- 
arated from the straw. The chaff still remained, and to 



PIONEER LIFE 



145 



get rid of it the grain was tossed in the air by a man with 
a shovel, while two other men created a strong breeze by 
fanning with a linen sheet. The chaff blew away, while 
the heavier grain fell down in a golden pile. 

Flax and the Weaving of Linen Cloth. Flax was another 
important crop in those days. Enough was raised to sup- 
ply the family with linen for the year. The fibers were 
separated from the lint by various processes, when the 
''tow," as it was called, was spun into thread and 




FANNING AWAY THE CHAFF 
(From "Stories of Pioneer Life," by permission of the publishers, D. C. Heath & Co.) 



woven into cloth on a hand loom. Bed and table 
linen, dresses and underclothing, and shirts for the men 
and boys were made from the various qualities of this 
linen cloth. 

Wool Growing and Weaving. Woolen cloth, too, was 
woven by the housewife on her loom. The sheep were 
sheared and the wool carded and spun, after which it was 
woven into cloth and dyed with homemade, vegetable 



146 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

dyes. In the earliest days, however, little weaving was 
done, for the women had too many other duties to perform 
while the new home was being established. Then cloth- 
ing was often made of buckskin, and was smiliar to that 
worn by the Indians. 

Mail. Often the early settlers wished to send letters 
to friends in the old home, while these same friends were 
just as eager to send letters to the settlers. But at that 
time the United States postal service had not been estab- 
lished, and the carrying of mail was a private enterprise. 
If the pioneer wished to send a letter to his old home in the 
East or South, he took it to the nearest settlement, and 
from there it was carried by some traveler who was going 
in the general direction of the place to which the letter 
was addressed. The first man passed it on to some one 
else who was going nearer to the address, and so on 
through several hands, until the letter at last reached its 
destination. Letters coming to Indiana met with about 
the same experiences. The time required for a letter to 
reach its destination was usually several weeks, and often 
months. With our quick and safe mail service of today, 
it is hard to realize that only a century ago Indiana 
was so remote from the world, and communication with 
outsiders was so difficult 

Progress of Civilization. Gradually, after the war of 
1812, and peace with the Indians, immigrants began to 
come in greater numbers, and the country became more 
thickly populated. Villages, towns, and cities sprang up, 
and the rigors of pioneer life were replaced by the comforts 
of civilization. We have constantly progressed until today 
we hold high rank among the states of the Union. 

Our Debt to the Pioneer. The debt we owe to the 
pioneer is a great one, but a debt that we can pay only in 
our reverence and respect to the memory of his courage 



PIONEER LIFE 147 

and heroism. From the wilderness he made fertile farms 
and laid the foundation of the wealth of today; but like 
Moses, he often had only a glimpse of the promised land, 
for the strides of our progress had just begun when the 
first generation of pioneers began to pass away. 



CHAPTER XIII 

EARLY SCHOOLS 

Early Instruction. The earliest instruction given within 
the confines of the State Avas by French priests, at the 
various trading stations. One of the earlj^ fathers wrote 
to his superior ''as these people have no books, and are 
naturally indolent, they would shortly forget the princi- 
ples of religion, if the remembrance of them was not 
recalled by these continued instructions. We collect the 
whole community in the chapel, and, after answering the 
questions put by the missionary to each one without dis- 
tinction of rank and age, prayers are heard and hj-mns 
sung.'' It is probable that some of the priests attempted 
to teach the children to read and write. These efforts met 
with little or no success, for the frontier Frenchman had 
as little use for mental effort as he had for physical toil. 
No real school existed in the territory until after the Amer- 
ican occupation. It is generally supposed that Father 
Rivet held the first school at Mncennes, in 1793. A few^ 
years later there is a record of another school at a settle- 
ment in what is now Dearborn County. 

Circulating Teachers. Soon after the first American 
settlers came from the East and South, attempts were made 
to teach some of the rudiments of knowledge. As the 
homes were far apart, and the danger from Indians and 
wild animals great, it was not feasible to gather the chil- 
dren together for instruction. The conditions were met 
by the employment of a teacher who traveled from house 
to house, spending about one-third of a da}' with a family. 

148 



EARLY SCHOOLS 



149 



In this way it was possible for the teacher to give the chil- 
dren in six families three lessons per week. These '^circu- 
lating teachers/' as they were called, did good work and 
succeeded in imparting some knowledge of the three R's — 
"Reading 'Ritin', and 'Rithmetic." 

Home Schools. When the people grew more numer- 
ous, and the dangers from Indians and wild animals 




^M'f^^ 



WHERE LINCOLN ATTENDED SCHOOL 
(In Spencer County) 

decreased, the children were gathered together at the 
home of some settler. Here, in a lean-to, at the side of 
the house, the school was conducted. In many cases the 
teacher was the wife or daughter of some pioneer. These 
temporary meeting places were replaced as rapidly as pos- 
sible by the log-cabin school houses, constructed by neigh- 
borhood cooperation. 



150 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

The Log School Houses. The early school houses were 
very similar to the houses of the settlers. They were built 
of round logs, and covered with four foot boards held in 
place by weight poles. The heat was furnished by a fire- 
place that occupied the greater part of one end of the 
building. Judge Banta tells of an early school house in 
Johnson County that had a chimney in the center rest- 
ing upon four posts. The fire was built on the ground 
under the chimney. These primitive school houses received 
light through an opening in one side made by the removal 
of one of the logs. This opening was generally latticed and 
covered with greased paper. Just inside the opening a 
puncheon hewn thin, rested upon pins, and served as a 
writing desk for the more advanced pupils. This punch- 
eon could be raised up and pinned in place, thus securely 
closing the window opening. Many of the buildings had 
nothing but dirt floors. Some more pretentious ones had 
puncheon floors. The seats were benches made of split 
logs, with hickory pins for legs. 

Various Make-Shift School Houses. In these early 
days, man}^ buildings constructed for other purposes were 
made to serve as school houses. Sometimes an abandoned 
block house was used. During the summer, it was not 
uncommon to teach the school in the open, or in the barn 
of some settler. It is said that the first school in the town 
of Vevay was taught in a gristmill. One of the early 
schools in Bartholomew County was taught in a blacksmith 
shop. In Spencer County an unused tannery was utilized. 

The Teacher and His Wages. The teachers of these 
early schools were many times adventurers from the East 
or from across the ocean, who taught while waiting for an 
opportunity to do something else. Some of them were 
excellent men, and made lasting impressions upon their 
pupils. They usually ''boarded around" — that is, they 




NDIANA IN 1S17 



EARLY SCHOOLS 153 

lived with the famihes whose children they taught. Each 
family kept the teacher a time proportionate to the num- 
ber of children attending. The schools, it should be 
remembered, were supported by subscription. Each fam- 
ily subscribed for whatever number of children it cared to 
have receive instruction. The usual rate for a three- 
months' term was $L75 per child, provided the teacher 
boarded around, or $2.50 per child if the teacher boarded 
himself. 

Methods and Subjects of Study. The instruction in 
the school was usually without either method or system. 
Textbooks were scarce. In many cases three or four chil- 
dren of different ages, from the same family, would have 
among them but a single book. This might be a speller 
or it might be the New Testament. The instruction was 
not by classes, but individually. Each pupil was called 
up by himself and made to recite his lessons alone. The 
idea never seems to have occurred to these early teachers 
that children of the same grade of advancement might 
profit greatly by reciting together. In most of the schools 
the children were required to study ''out loud." It was 
believed that studying in this way would develop the 
power of attention. The course of study was not organ- 
ized. Each pupil was allowed to study about what he 
pleased. In general, spelling, reading, writing and arith- 
metic, to the single rule of three, constituted the limit of 
the work attempted. Sometimes there was a student or 
two in grammar. Occasionally some educated teacher 
would succeed in having a pupil study Latin. When 
this occurred, the school in which it happened received a 
great reputation throughout the entire community. 

Constitution and Education. When the Constitution 
of Indiana was adopted, the Ninth Article was devoted to 
education. No document ever spoke more clearly upon 



154 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

the subject of general education than the first Indiana 
Constitution. It provided that the lands granted by the 
United States Government for school purposes could not 
be sold prior to 1820. It also fixed forever the perma- 
nency of the funds coming from the sale of these lands. 
The second section of this Article read: ''It shall be the 
duty of the General Assembly, as soon as circumstances 
will permit, to provide by law for a general sj^stem of edu- 
cation, ascending in a regular gradation from township 
schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be gratis 
and equally open to all." It also provided that all money 
received from 'persons exempted from militia duty, and 
also all fines assessed for any breach of the penal law, should 
be applied to the support of the country seminaries. The 
constitution made "the preservation of a free government" 
the reason for encouraging learning and supporting schools. 
The sj^stem proposed was to be public, and it was meant to 
be state-controlled and centrally administered. 

Law of 1824. In 1824 a law was passed which gave the 
townships the right to elect three trustees who were to 
hold office for one year. They had general charge of the 
school lands and school funds. They were required to 
divide their townships into districts. They were also 
empowered to examine teachers and grant licenses. As 
these men had but little education, the examinations were 
very much in the nature of a farce. 

Barnabas Hobbs' First Examination. Barnabas Hobbs 
speaks of his first examination as follows: "The only ques- 
tion asked me at my first examination was, what is the 
product of twenty-five cents by twenty-five cents. As 
this question did not occur in Pike's arithmetic, I could not 
answer it. The examiner thought it was six and one-quarter 
cents, but was not sure. We discussed its merits for an 
hour or more, when he decided that he was sure I was quali- 



EARLY SCHOOLS 155 

fied to teach school, and a first-class certificate was 
given me." 

Teachers Paid in Produce. Tuition in the schools 
opened under the law of 1824 was not free. The revenue 
from the school lands was so small that it would not go 
far in paying the teacher. The teachers were paid by the 
patrons in produce of various kinds. We find records 
showing that they were frequently paid in pork, corn, 
tow-linen, leather, cord wood and butter. 

Opposition to the School System. Many school laws 
were passed between 1824 and 1850. Some of these laws 
were local in character, and to be executed only provided 
the people themselves accepted them by a majority vote. 
The people generally were opposed to free schools and to 
any measure that gave state control. Several very excel- 
lent laws were passed, but either they were not enforced 
or the courts declared them unconstitutional. 

Slow Progress. In spite of the promise in the constitu- 
tion, and the many laws enacted by the legislature, but 
little progress was being made. It was asserted by one 
competent to judge, in 1834, that the "state of common 
education in Indiana is truly alarming. Only about one 
child in eight, between five and fifteen years, is able to 
read. The common schools and competent teachers are 
few." President Tuttle of Wabash College writes: "In 
1840 there were 273,784 children in the state of school age, 
of whom 48,180 attended the common schools. One-sev- 
enth of the adult population could not read, and a large 
proportion of those who could read, did so imperfectly. . . . 
As late as 1846 the state was rated lowest among the free 
states as to its popular intelligence and means of popular 
education. Even the capital of the state did not have a 
free school until 1853, and then one was kept open only 
two months." 



156 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



Caleb Mills. It is fortunate that at this dark time in 
the history of the state, there were men in different com- 
munities who saw clearly the need of education and who 
possessed the quality of leadership. Beyond any doubt, the 
greatest of these men was Caleb Mills, of Wabash College. 
Mr. Mills was a native of New Hampshire and a graduate 




CALEB MILLS 



of Dartmouth College. He came as the head of the Eng- 
lish Department to Wabash College, in 1833. He at once 
took a deep interest in the educational development of 
his adopted state. From his coming to the state until his 
death, in 1879, he was a great, if not a controlling force, 
in every educational act of the legislature. 



EARLY SCHOOLS 157 

Mills' Messages. Beginning in 1846, Caleb Mills 
issued a number of messages either to the General Assem- 
bly of Indiana or to the people of the state. In these mes- 
sages, which were signed ''One of the People," Professor 
Mills set forth in clear and convincing arguments the need 
of a state-controlled and state-administered system of 
education. He called the governors and legislators to 
account for their failure to make proper provisions for the 
education of all the people. The work of Mills gave 
renewed courage to other prominent friends of education 
in different parts of the state. 

Vote for Free Schools. The whole question became 
one of interest and general discussion, .and resulted in the 
legislature of 1847 providing for a popular vote upon the 
question of free public schools. In October of 1848, after 
a very exciting campaign in which the very strongest argu- 
ments for and against general education had been set forth, 
the people voted upon the question, ''Are you in favor of 
free schools?" The result was 78,523 for free schools, and 
61,887 against them. As Professor Boone says in his His- 
tory of Education in Indiana, "It was a victory, but chiefly 
because it was not a defeat." 

Law of 1849. As a result of this vote in favor of free 
schools, the legislature of 1849 passed "An act to increase 
and extend the benefits of common schools." This act 
had in it thirty-one sections, and was most formidable in 
its appearance and provisions. It made the schools of 
equal length throughout each township, provided for a 
system of records and reports, which, through the district 
and township trustees, the county officials and the superin- 
tendent of common schools was intended to extend the 
knowledge of the new system to all parts of the state. 
Perhaps the greatest provision of the law was that legaliz- 
ing public taxation for the support of the schools. The 



158 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

greatest weakness in the law was, that it left to the voters 
of each county the right to determine whether or not the 
law should become effective. In the vote upon this ques- 
tion in 1849, the majority in favor of the law was 15,767. 
Out of the ninety counties in the state at that time, fifty- 
nine accepted the law and thirty-one rejected it. The law 
provided that those refusing its privileges in 1849 should 
vote annually upon the question thereafter. A number of 
counties never assented to the law, but continued to 
operate under the old laws. 

County Seminaries. The Constitution of 1816 made 
special provision for the support of county seminaries. 
One of the very early laws related to the establishment of 
public seminaries. This act became a law in 1818, and is 
known as the ^'County Seminary Law.'* Under the pro- 
visions of this law and other laws that were passed from 
time to time, many seminaries were established in the 
various counties of the state. Laws were also enacted 
that gave seminary privileges to private corporations. 
Under such acts from 1816 to 1851, 73 seminaries were 
established. These seminaries were real centers of culture. 
They were not public in the sense that tuition was free, 
for in all of them the students had to pay for their instruc- 
tion. 

Tribute to the Seminary. Professor Boone, in his His- 
tory of Education in Indiana, pays this deserved tribute 
to the old seminary: ''After the extremest criticism has 
been passed upon the deficiencies of the means of general 
public education during the period, it must be said that 
for no people or any generation has there been provided 
more efficient teaching, more generously supported con- 
sidering their resources, or more generally appreciated, 
than in these supplementary institutions that made the 
State honorably famous just prior to and following the 



EARLY SCHOOLS 159 

middle of the eentur}^ On a frontier not yeX, freed from 
the swamp and thicket, where there was little wealth and 
less leisure, in more than a score of towns and country 
neighborhoods, were well-known and prosperous centers 
of the severest classical and disciplinary^ culture. No 
compromise was made with the practical. Their training 
was altogether ^liberal' and general. They imitated the 
older East in the curriculum, and rivaled it in method and 
efficiency. The really classically educated, both among 
pupils and teachers, were relatively far more common 
than now." 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE STATE CAPITAL MOVED TO INDIANAPOLIS 

Former Capitals of Indiana. The territory forming the 
state of Indiana had many capitals before the establish- 
ment of the permanent capital city of Indianapolis. Under 
the French, the capital was Paris. Quebec, as the seat of 
government of the province to which the larger part of 
Indiana belonged, exercised authority over the posts at 
Ouiatanon and Miamis, but not over Vincennes, which was 
a part of the province of Louisiana, and received orders 
from New Orleans and Fort Chartres. Miamis and Ouia- 
tanon were dependent on Detroit for supplies and reen- 
forcements, and the commandant at that post was the super- 
ior officer of the commandants of the two Indiana forts. 
With the close of the French and Indian war, and the treaty 
of 1763, Indiana passed under the control of Great Brit- 
ain, and the capital became London, with the command- 
ant at Detroit as the chief local representative of the King. 
When George Rogers Clark made his famous conquest of 
the Northwest, the region came under the control of the 
colony of Virginia, with the seat of government at Williams- 
burg, and then at Richmond. When Virginia and the other 
states ceded to the federal government their claims to western 
lands, Indiana became part of the Northwest Territory, 
with the capital at Marietta, Ohio. When Indiana Territory 
was organized in 1800, Vincennes was made the capital, 
and so remained until the removal to Cory don in 1813. 
Congress Donates Land for a CapitaL After the admis- 
sion of Indiana to the Union, in 1816, Congress made a 

160 



CAPITAL MOVED TO INDIANAPOLIS 161 

donation of four sections of free land for the establishment 
of a capital city for the new state. This land was to be 
selected by the state legislature, from ''such lands as may 
hereafter be acquired by the United States from the Indian 
tribes within the said territory." It was generally under- 
stood that the capital was to be located on the west fork of 
White River, since that was the only navigable stream in 
the central part of the state, and since a location could be 
found there which would be near the geographical center 
of the state. 

The New Purchase. At this time the Miami and Dela- 
ware nations each laid claim to all the territory watered 
by the White River. These claims comprised about the 
central third of the present state of Indiana. In 1809, 
Governor Harrison had made an attempt to stop the dis- 
putes of the two tribes by having them sign a treaty, in 
which, among other things, it was agreed that neither 
tribe would dispose of the disputed territory without the 
consent of the other. The state government was very 
desirous of securing this fertile region, and so, in October, 
1818, Governor Jennings assembled the Miamis and the 
Delawares at St. Mary's, Ohio, to treat with them for the 
disposal of their lands. The result of this was a treaty by 
which the government of the United States secured the 
Indian title to the central third of the present state of 
Indiana. This region was called the "New Purchase," 
and as such it is known in history. 

Commissioners Appointed. The survey of the ''New 
Purchase" was pushed forward, and on January 11, 
1820, the legislature appointed ten commissioners to 
locate the capital. They were required by law to meet 
''at the house of William Connor on the West Fork of 
White River, on a day to be named," and to select 
"a site which, in their opinion, shall be most eligible and 



162 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

iidvantageous for the peniuineiit seat of govcrinnent of 
Indiana." 

Site of Indianapolis Selected. The commissioners assem- 
bled at William Connor's house, which was located some 
four miles below the present city of Noblesville, May 22nd. 
After being sworn in, they adjourned to meet on the 24th 
at the mouth of Fall Creek, on White River. They did 
not meet so soon, however, for the next five days were 
spent in exploration of the land bordering on the river, 
near the place selected for their meeting. On the 27th they 
assembled, and '^agreed to select and locate the site in Town- 
ship 15 north, of R. 3E.'' This was in fact their meeting 
place, and the site of the present city of Indianapolis. 

Advantages of the Site. The selection has proved to 
be very advantageous, though at the time it Avas made it 
did not seem wholly so. In their report to the legislature 
the commissioners justify themselves in the following 
words: ''The undersigned have endeavored to connect with 
an eligible site the advantages of a navigable stream and 
fertility of soil, while they have not been unmindful of the 
geographical situation of the various portions of the state; 
to its political center as it regards both the present and 
future population, as well as the present and future inter- 
ests of the citizens." Certainly we will admit that the 
commissioners were wise and farseeing, and that their 
regard for the interest of the future citizens is well repaid 
by those citizens today. The site is the natural one for the 
metropolis as well as the capital of Indiana. Though the 
railroad was then not dreamed of, the location makes 
Indianapolis a natural railroad center. 

Disadvantages of the Site. The chief disadvantage was 
the swampy character of the site. Several small streams 
kept the lowlying ground always damp. In wet weather 
these overflowed and covered portions of the site with 



CAPITAL MOVED TO INDIANAPOLIS 163 

water. In the early days of the town, malarial fevers, 
old time ague, and other diseases which the swamp coun- 
try bred, were numerous. The sufferings from these dis- 
eases were such as we can hardly believe today. In 1821 
the few settlers in the little village suffered excessively. 
It was a very damp, rainy summer. By the last of July 
nearly every one in the little community had been ''took," 
as they called it, with ague. One of the settlers afterward 
wrote that ''one day my father was suffering for water and 
no one was able to draw a bucket." Another settler wrote 
much later, that he had "served a regular apprenticeship at 
the ague, and worked at journey work at the chills and 
fever, and thought he had graduated." 

The Naming of Indianapolis. By the act of January 6, 
1821, the legislature ratified the selection of the site for 
the state capital, and also provided for the selection of 
three commissioners to lay out the town and appoint an 
agent for the sale of the lots. By the same act the name 
Indianapolis was given to the new capital. The naming 
of the newly created city caused no end of debate. Vari- 
ous names were suggested, among them Tecumseh and 
Suwarror. Judge Jeremiah Sullivan, one of the legisla- 
tors, finally suggested Indianapolis, a combination of 
Indiana and the Greek word polls, which means city — 
Indianapolis meaning city of Indiana. Today we think 
the name most apropriate, for it makes plain to all the 
world where the city so named is located, and that it is the 
capital of the state. But, though the legislature adopted 
the name, it made much sport of it, and the state as a whole 
was inclined to take it as a joke. The Indiana Sentinel, 
pubHshed at Vincennes, announced the naming of the new 
capital in the issue of January 15th, 1821, in the following 
manner: "One of the most ludicrous acts, however, of the 
sojourners at Cory don, was their naming the new seat of 



164 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Government. Such a name, kind readers, you would never 
find by searching from Dan to Beersheba; nor in all the 
libraries, museums and patent offices of the world. It is 
like nothing in heaven nor on earth, nor in the waters under 
the earth. It is not a name for man, woman, or child; for 
empire, city, mountain or morass; for bird, beast, fish or 
creeping thing; and nothing mortal or immortal could have 
thought of it except the wise men of the East who were 
congregated at Corydon. It is composed of the following 
letters : I-N-D-I-A-N-A-P-O-L-I-S." 

Planning the City. Surveyors were appointed who set 
to work laying out a city in the wilderness. One of the 
two men appointed had helped in the survey of Washing- 
ton, D C, and had profited by the taste and skill of Major 
1/ Enfant, the Frenchman who so ably designed the plan 
of our national capital. To these two surveyors Indianap- 
olis and the state owe much. They laid out a city which 
is the admiration of all who visit it, and which is not excelled 
in beauty and convenience of plan by any city on the con- 
tinent. The original plan was a mile square. In the center 
was a circle, then called Governor's Circle. Radiating from 
this circle, at a point a block distant, were four avenues, 
cutting across diagonally to the four corners of the 
square. The original city w^as bounded by North, South, 
East, and West streets. Provision was made for the loca- 
tion of public buildings and parks. In its broad features, 
this plan has been consistently followed. The steady growth 
of the city has made necessary the addition of many times 
the original territory, but the spirit of the original plan 
has been retained, and we have today one of the finest of 
the middle-w^estern cities as the capital of our state. 

Indianapolis in 1822. In 1822 the beautiful city existed 
only on paper, and the reality was a swampy, malarial 
tract, with stumps in the streets, a few log dwellings and 




SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT. INDIANAPOLIS 



CAPITAL MOVED TO INDIANAPOLIS 167 

shops, and a population of about five hundred. It had not 
even a post office at that time, the nearest one being at 
Connersville. The post office was estabUshed late in 1822, 
and its establishment was celebrated by the few inhabi- 
tants as a great event, The mails arrived semi-monthly. 
The Centerville mail, as it was called, was carried by a 
lame fiddler named Amos Dilly. Amos's arrival was a most 
welcome event, and was generally celebrated by a dance, 
for which he furnished the music. 

The First Newspaper. The first newspaper was estab- 
lished about the same time as the post office. It did not 
appear daily, as its several successors do now, but came 
out every two weeks, or whenever enough news had been 
collected to fill an issue. It was called The Gazette. 

State Offices Transferred to the New Capital. The 
court house was the first public building, and was built 
on ground donated by the legislature — the site of the pres- 
ent Marion County Court House. State funds were used 
for the building, and it was to serve for the meetings of the 
legislature until a State House was erected. In Novem- 
ber, 1824, the books and other state papers were brought 
in a wagon from Corydon, the journey requiring ten days' 
time. Indianapolis then formally became the capital of 
the state, and the legislature met there for the first time 
the following year. 

Progress of the New Capital. Lots were sold, mean- 
while, and houses v/ere built. The little backwoods vil- 
lage settled down to an existence about like that of other 
similar settlements, except when the legislature met, at 
which times ''trade picked up," and the presence of many 
strangers lent an added interest and excitement to the life 
of the community. The manner in which the legislators 
were lodged was hardly to their satisfaction, but was quite 
the best that could be done for them Six were usually 



168 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



lodged in one cabin. When we consider that the cabins 
were seldom over twenty feet square, we can appreciate 
how crowded the lawmakers were. For the privilege of 
such accommodations, with board included, the price was 
three dollars per week. The members thought this very 




STATE CAPITOL BUILDING, ERECTED 1832 
(Formerly on site of present State House) 

high and threatened that ''they had once removed the 
seat of government from Corydon because of the extortions 
of its citizens, and that they would do so again." This 
was of course all talk, for the capital was then permanently 
located on ground donated by the government. As time 
went on, accommodations improved, four brick houses 
were built, more settlers came, and the town gained some 
connection with the outside world by the stage route to 
Madison and Michigan City, which was opened in 1828. 
White River was not bridged until 1834, and up to that 



CAPITAL MOVED TO INDIANAPOLIS 169 

time a ferry boat was operated at the foot of Washington 
Street. 

The Governor's Mansion. The circle, where the beau- 
tiful Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument now stands, was 
originally intended as the place for the location of the Gov- 
ernor's mansion. In 1827 the legislature appropriated 
4,000 dollars for the purpose of building a residence for the 
Governor. The mansion was put up that year. Among 
other specifications, the act directs that the residence be 
inclosed by an ''elegant and tasteful rail fence." It was a 
large, square brick house, with the rooms of the lower floor 
so arranged that they could be thrown together for balls 
or assemblies. The building was never occupied by a 
governor of the state, for as soon as it was built it became 
apparent that the location was too exposed for residential 
purposes. The house served a variety of uses, until it was 
torn down in 1857. 

The First Railroad. On October 1, 1847, the first rail- 
road into Indianapolis was completed, and the first train 
entered the city. The road ran to MacUson, connecting 
Indianapolis with the Ohio River. The day w^as cele- 
brated in a fitting manner, and attracted great crow^ls of 
people. To add to the greatness of the day there was 
''Spalding's North American Circus," which the bills 
claimed was made up of over 200 people, including "35 
widely celebrated lady and gentlemen artists at the acme 
of their profession," and a brass band of "15 picked musi- 
cians in lusterous uniforms." The local paper, The 
Journal, gave an account of the events of the day, some 
of which is so interesting to present-day readers that it is 
worth quoting. Speaking of the arrival of the first train, 
The Journal says: "Soon a dark spot in the distance 
was descried by those picketed upon the furtherest out- 
posts; then was heard the shrill whistle of the locomotive, 



170 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

echoing through hoary forests and over verdant fields, and 
shout answering to shout, as the two iron steeds, puffing 
and snorting majestically, turned the curve in the road a 
short distance from the town, followed by two long trains 
of passenger and freight cars, completely filled with human 
beings, the ladies waving their white handkerchiefs and 
the men and boys using their lungs in answering back the 
long, loud huzzas from the people awaiting their approach." 
The Governor made a speech from the top of the car, after 
which there was more applause, and then a scramble to get 
on the cars for the pleasure ride to Greenwood and back. 
The railroad company charged fifteen cents for this excur- 
sion, and during the first week carried passengers for one- 
third of the regular fare. 

The Old Capitol. By 1830, the court house was crowded 
by the gro^\ing legislature, and the need was felt for a per- 
manent state house for the accommodation of state offices, 
the state library, and the law library. The legislature 
found that the unsold lots, in the original tract donated by 
Congress, would bring about 56,000 dollars, and resolved 
to sell these lots and use the sum in the building of a capi- 
tol. The building, designed by a New York architect, was 
completed in 1835, at a total cost of about 60,000 dollars. 
It was considered a very fine building, and for that day it 
was. It was about 200 feet long and 100 feet wide, and 
followed the style of the Parthenon at Athens in the exte- 
rior, though a dome was added in the center of the roof. It 
was not very well built, and before it was replaced ''acquired 
the appearance of a genuine Grecian ruin." It was a pleas- 
ant old building, nevertheless. Mr. J. P. Dunn, speaking 
of it says: ''But with all its dilapidation, there was a charm 
about the old State House that can never be found about 
its more business-like successor. Indeed, there was no sug^ 
gestion of business about the old State House unless the 



CAPITAL MOVED TO INDIANAPOLIS 171 

legislature was in session or a crowd was assembled by 
some other special event. ... It was a genuine 
pleasure to stroll in on a warm summer day, up the worn 
steps, past the battered columns of the porticos, into the 
cool, musty corridor, and then nose around in the state 
library and museum, which was the chief attraction of 
the building, and rivaled the asylums as the chief show 
place of the city."* The old state capitol was so dilapi- 
dated and overcrowded by 1867, that a small additional 
building was put up for the use of the supreme court and 
state officers. In 1877 the legislature appointed four com- 
missioners to build a capitol costing not over 2,000,000 
dollars. The present building was completed in 1888. 

Indianapolis in 1826. The Indiana Gazetteer pub- 
lished in 1826, sa^^s of Indianapolis : ^Tt is supposed the place 
now contains about 800 inhabitants, 7 stores, 4 taverns, 1 
clock and watchmaker, several cabinetmakers, carpenters, 
saddlers, hatters, shoemakers, tailors, brick and stone 
masons, plasterers, chairmakers, wheelwrights, etc. It also 
contains 2 printing offices, a post office, a library, a 
Sunday school, a l^ible society, and a masonic lodge, — 3 
clergymen, 3 physicians and several lawyers." 

In 1833. A later Indiana Gazetteer, published in 
IncUanapolis in 1833, says: ''In the summer of 1829 there 
were 1,085 inhabitants, 41 of whom were blacks. No 
enumeration has been taken recently, but it is supposed 
the population is now about 1,600." 

Increase of Population. The increase in population, 
at first ver}^ slow, became quite rapid after the Civil War. 
The census of 1840 showed a poulation of 2,692, that of 
1850, 8,091. In 1860 the population had reached 18,611, 
and in the next ten years grew at a then remarkable rate, 
reaching 48,244 in 1870. The census of 1880 showed 

*J. P. Dunn, ''History of Greater Indianapolis." P. 105. 



172 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

75,056; that of 1890, 105,436. In 1900 it had reached 
169,146; while the latest census shows 233,650. In less 
than a century this great city has sprung up, greater than 
its founders ever dreamed, and destined always to hold 
an important place among the cities of the United States 
and the world. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE NATIONAL ROAD 

Early Trails. The first roads in Indiana followed the 
old Indian trails, and the blazed trails made by the set- 
tlers. These trails, of both Indian and white origin, 
extended over the state in a network that would surprise 
us today by its extent, could we map out all of those now 
forgotten and obUterated pathways. 

Need of Roads. No definite system of road building 
was begun until four years after Indiana had been admitted 
to the Union. The first settlements of importance were 
found along the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, and, since these 
water-ways afforded communication, the need for roads 
was not felt. In 1820 the vast territory comprised in the 
*'New Purchase" was thrown open to settlers, and the 
need of roads into this fertile region at once became appar- 
ent. Furthermore, the state capital was soon located in 
the very heart of this new territory, and roads were needed 
from all sections of the state to permit the legislators and 
others to reach the seat of government. 

Road Building Begins. ''In 1820 not less than twenty- 
six roads were projected, and as many sets of commissioners 
appointed to view the lands and mark out the routes. The 
roads not only connected the older to^vns of the state, but 
extended into the interior. Two were to lead to the pro- 
posed capital, and one was from Lawrenceburg to Win- 
chester, this latter being by subsequent act extended to 
Fort Wayne. During the next ten years there was repeated 
and lengthy legislation on this subject of state roads, 

173 



174 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

showing tht^ paramount importance of highways in the 
early days of the new commonwealth. Many other roads 
were added to the original sj^stem, some were re-located, 
and there were various modifications. In the main, how- 
ever, the first ideas were carried out, and on a road map 
of 1835, now existing, at least two-thirds of the state is 
pretty well criscrossed with highways other than the local 
country roads *'* 

Sources of Revenue for Roads. Revenue for the build- 
ing and maintenance of roads came from three sources. 
The first was known as the three per cent, fund, and was a 
donation from the general government. Out of the money 
derived from the sale of public lands, five per cent, was set 
aside for internal improvements. Tw^o-fifths of this went 
to the government for works of general benefit, while three- 
fifths went to the state for improvements within her bor- 
ders. In Indiana this fund amounted to over half a mil- 
hon dollars. Road tax, assessed on all real estate, was 
another source of revenue. The third source was a labor 
requirement, which specified that all male inhabitants 
between the ages of twenty-one and fifty should work on 
the roads for two days in each year, or pay a sum equiva- 
lent to this work. 

Early Roads Very Poor. The early roads were cleared 
and graded, but seldom piked, and were consequently 
very poor. The state was at that time very swampy 
in all but the hilly land to the south. The uncut forests 
held back the moisture so that the streams were full of 
water during the greater part of the year. ''Most of the 
year a journey over the roads was simply a slow, labor- 
ious wallowing through mud; the bogs were passable only 
through the use of corduroy, and this corduroy of poles 
laid side by side for miles, not infrequently had to be 

* Cottman's History Pamphlets. No. X, P. 17. 



THE NATIONAL ROAD 175 

weighted clown v/ith dirt to prevent it floating off when 
the swamp waters rose. ... As one proceeded he 
must track to right and left, not to find the road, but to 
get out of it and find places where the mud was ^thick 
enough to bear.' . . . Innumerable stubs of saplings 
sharpened like spears by being cut off obliquely, waited to 
impale the unlucky traveler who might be pitched out upon 
them, and the probability of such accident was consider- 
able, as the lurching wagon plunged over a succession of 
ruts and roots, describing an exhilarating seesaw with most 
astonishing alteration of plunge, creak and splash. Ever 
and anon the brimming streams had to be crossed, some- 
times by unsafe fording and sometimes by rude ferries. In 
the latter case the ferry keeper was apt to be off at work 
somewhere in his clearing, and the traveler had to 4ialloo 
to the ferry' till he could make himself heard."* 

Such, then, were the first roads in Indiana. Naturally 
they were a great detriment to the progress of the state, 
for they made communication and commerce difficult, and 
stopped many immigrants without the state borders. 

The National Road. The National Road crossed the 
state from east to west, entering it near Richmond and 
leaving it west of Terra Haute. It was completed through 
Wayne County in 1827, but the other portions of it were more 
slow in construction. The total length of the road through 
Indiana is one hundred forty-nine and one-fourth miles. 

Congressional Action Regarding the Road. The road 
was the result of much discussion in Congress, which came 
to a head in 1806, in an act to regulate the laying out and 
making of a road from Cumberland, in the state of Mary- 
land, to the borders of the state of Ohio. Commissioners 
were appointed, surveys made, and after many reports, 
and much debating, Congress appropriated money for the 

* Cottman's History Pamphlets. No. X, p. 17. 



176 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

enterprise. East of the Ohio the road was well constructed. 
The cost averaged six thousand dollars per mile, exclusive 
of bridges and culverts. Appropriations for extending the 
road west of the Ohio River, and through the states of 
Ohio and Indiana, were very hard to get through Congress, 
and so the construction of the road through the part of the 
country that most needed it, was put off from year to year. 
When appropriations were finally made, they were not 
nearly so bountiful as those made for the eastern portion 
of the highway. 

The Road a Long Time in Construction. The con- 
struction of the road dragged its slow length through 
nearly half a century. It passed through Indiana, and as 
far as Vandalia, Illinois, after which it could get no farther. 
The construction through Indiana and Illinois was the 
poorest of any on the road — in fact, the farther west the 
road went the worse it became. Through Ohio to the end 
of the road in Illinois, the average cost was but three 
thousand dollars per mile, just half of v/hat the eastern part 
of the road had cost. In many places the only work done 
was to clear away the timber, grub up the stumps, and dig 
ditches. The road was not given a stone or gravel coating, 
the only thought being to open a track over which wagons 
might be hauled through the mud. Sometimes in the 
swampy lands, sections of corduroy were put in, but stone 
and gravel were not added until the road became the prop- 
erty of the counties through which it passed, or was leased 
to private companies. 

Traffic on the Road. As the National Road improved 
and became more passable, the traffic upon it was very 
heavy. The ^ ^carriers," as the men who drove freight wag- 
ons were called, were very numerous, and their wagons 
served the same purpose as the railway freight trains of 
today in carrying goods from place to place. Passengers 



THE NATIONAL ROAD 177 

were carried in stage coaches, which plied between all the 
larger towns on the road. These stages connected with 
each other, so that it was possible to start from the eastern 
end of the highway and make the journey by stage to the 
western terminus. 

Stage Coaches. The stage coaches were very magnifi- 
cent affairs for that day, handsomely painted without and 
comfortably upholstered within. Nine passengers could 
be carried inside, and an additional passenger on the box 
beside the driver. The horses were fine animals, capable 
of high speed. They were well fed and cared for, and beau- 
tifully matched and harnessed. Altogether, the old time 
stage coach was a sight worth going a long way to see No 
wonder the children of the villages hailed the arrival of the 
stage coach as the event of the day. First, off in the dis- 
tance, came the faint sound of the driver's horn echoing 
through the quiet country. The sound grew louder, and 
then the stage coach burst into view, coming at break- 
neck speed, rounding curves with a fascinating reckless- 
ness, and drawing up before the inn door with a grand 
flourish. If the village happened to be a post station, the 
horses were unharnessed, while a groom trotted out a fresh 
team to take their places. Meanwhile the mail was given 
to the innkeeper, or storekeeper, who acted as local post- 
master; the passengers who had reached their destination 
alighted, and others, perhaps, took their places. The 
driver blew a shrill blast on his horn, snapped his whip, and 
off dashed horses and stage coach for the next village. This 
would seem very slow travel for us today, and rather tedi- 
ous, uncomfortable travel, too. But there was a certain 
glamour of romance and adventure about it all that mod- 
ern travel in a train of steel cars lacks. 

Life on the National Road in 1840. An old man, who 
was a little boy back in the halcyon days of the National 



178 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Road, has given us the following account of what he saw 
along that road in the Eighteen Forties: — 

^'From morning till night there was a continual rum- 
ble of wheels, and when the rush was greatest, there was 
never a minute that wagons were not in sight, and as a rule, 
one company of wagons was closely followed by another. 



''Many families occupied two or more of the big road 
wagons then in use, with household goods and their imple- 
ments, while extra horses, colts, cattle, sheep, and some- 
time s hogs, were led or driven behind. Thus, when five or ten 
families were moving in company, the procession of wag- 
ons, men, women, children and stock, was quite lengthy 
and imposing. The younger Avomen often drove the team, 
while the men and boys walked by turns, to drive and look 
after the stock, and now and then there would be an old- 
f ashioned carriage, set upon high wheels to go safely over 
stumps and through streams. The older women and little 
children occupied these, and went bobbing up and down 
on the great leather springs, which were the fashion sixty 
years ago. 

''But everybody did not travel in that way. Single 
families, occupying only a single one or two-horse wagon 
or cart, frequently passed along, seeming as confident and 
hopeful as the others, while even the resolute family, the 
members of which carried their worldly possessions upon 
their backs or pushed them forward in hand wagons, was 
not an unfamiliar spectacle to the little boys who watched 
by the way. 

"The wagons, horses and other belongings of the mov- 
ers were fair indications, not only of their worldly condi- 
tion and intelligence, but also of the sections from whence 
they came. The great Pennsylvania wagons, with their 



THE NATIONAL ROAD 170 

elaborately paneled beds, running up high in front and 
rear, were also used by the better-to-do Virginians and Caro- 
linians, with this difference, that the Pennsylvania wagons 
were very large and often drawn by four or six fine horses, 
well matched for size and color, while the Virginians and 
Carolinians seldom drove more than two horses. A com- 
pany of these well-to-do movers with their great wagons, 
large, well-groomed horses in heavy harness, glittering 
with brass-headed rivets, rings and other ornaments, with 
bows of melodious bells either above the points of the 
hames or upon the heavy backhands, and with great hous- 
ings of bearskin covering the shoulders, and red plumes 
nodding from the headgear, was a sight that the small boy 
put down in his book of memory, never to be forgotten. 

''Very different from these were the little Southern 
carts, drawn by the little, bony Southern horses. It is a 
matter of tradition that numbers of these little Carolina 
wagons and carts were wrought of the tough young oak 
timber that grew upon the old fields of the South, and that 
the wood was so tenacious of fibre and the vehicles so well 
constructed by the rural wagon-makers, that they stood up 
through the journey over the mountains and along the 
roughest of roads without the aid of so much as an iron 
nail, and without tires, or any kind of metal brace. The 
feet of the horses or mules that drew them were also guilt- 
less of iron, and the children in the villages and upon the 
farms were quick to discover the arrival of a new Carolina 
family by the tracks of the tireless wheels and the shoeless 
horses. 



''With the tinkling of the bells, the rumbhng of the 
wheels, the noise of the animals and the chatter of the 
people as they went forward, the little boy who had gone 



180 THE STOKY OF INDIANA 

to the road from his lonesome home in th(^ woods was cap- 
tivated and carried away into the great active world. But 
the greatest wonder and delight of all was the stage coach, 
radiant, in new paint and drawn by its four matched horses 
in their showy harness, and filled inside and on top with 
w^ell-dressed people. I think yet that there has never been 
a more graceful or handsome turnout than one of these fine 
old stage coaches drawn by a team of matched horses and 
driven by such drivers as used to handle the ribbons between 
Richmond and Indianapolis. We could hear the driver 
playing his bugle as he approached the little town, and it 
all seemed too grand and fine to be other than a dream."* 
The Road Today. Gradually, after the coming of the 
railroads, the glory of the National Road declined, until 
at last it was just a common highway, lacking its stage 
coaches, its carriers, and its trains of immigrant wagons. 
Once the ''broad highway" of the country, over w^hich 
passed rich and poor, the resplendent stage coach, and the 
poor immigrant's two-wheeled cart, it is now but an ordin- 
ary road over w^hich the farmer jogs to market, disturbed 
now and then by the passing of an automobile, or an 
electric trolley on the track that follows along by the road. 
The glory and glamour of its past are gone, but we should 
cherish the memory of those golden days as one of the 
most interesting chapters in the annals of our early history. 

*Mr. B. S. Parker, in J.J.Piatt's Ohio Valley Annual, "The 
Hesperian Tree" for 1903. 



CHAPTER XVI 

ERA OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS AND THE 
MEXICAN WAR 

An Era of Internal Improvement. In the ten years 
between 1830 and 1840, the state of Indiana undertook 
a vast system of internal improvements, calculated to open 
up new territory, increase trade, and furnish revenue to the 
state treasury. For ten years the leading men of Indiana 
had favored such a system, and discussed the question of 
providing for it by law. The period was one of internal 
improvement throughout the land. In the East, railroads 
were being built, and the Erie Canal had just been com- 
pleted. In her first wave of prosperity, Indiana attempted 
to do on a grand scale what the older and wealthier por- 
tions of the country were doing. That she should have 
failed now seems inevitable, but at the time the people of 
the state saw only success in view, and were wildly enthu- 
siastic. 

The Michigan Road and the Erie and Wabash Canal. 
In 1830, construction was begun on a public road running 
from Madison, on the Ohio River, to Lake Michigan. The 
road passed through Indianapolis, and gave the capital its 
first direct connection with the Ohio River and the numer- 
ous settlements and towns located along it. To aid in 
building this road, and the projected Erie and Wabash 
Canal, land grants estimated to be worth $1,250,000 were 
made by Congress. The canal was to begin at some point 
on the lower Wabash, or on the Ohio River, and extend 
across Indiana and connect with the Erie Canal in Ohio. 

181 



182 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

In 1832 the work of construction was started. Contracts 
were let for the building of thirty-two miles of the canal, and 
the construction was pushed rapidly forward. Work was 
begun at the St. Joseph River, and in 1835 was completed 
to the forks of the Wabash. 

Plan of Internal Improvements. The apparent success 
of these initial ventures finally encouraged the legislature 
of 1836 to pass a law providing for a magnificent scheme 
of internal improvements. These improvements were in 
eight divisions. First, the White Water Canal, which 
extended from White Water River to Lawrenceburg, 
together with some connecting branches. Second, the 
Central Canal, to commence at the Erie and Wabash 
Canal, between Fort Wayne and Logansport, extending 
by way of Indianapolis and the valley of the West Fork 
of White River to the junction of the two forks of White 
River, thence to Evansville and the Ohio. Third, an exten- 
sion of the Erie and Wabash Canal from the mouth of the 
Tippecanoe River, down the Wabash valley to Terre 
Haute, and thence by w^ay of Eel River, to connect with the 
Central Canal in Knox County. Fourth, a railroad to 
extend from Madison, through Columbus, Indianapolis 
and Cra^vfordsville, to LaFayette. Fifth, a macadamized 
pike from near Fredericksburg through Paoli, Mt. Pleas- 
ant, and Washington, to Vincennes. Sixth, a railroad, if 
practicable after a survey, from Jeffersonville to Craw- 
fordsville, by way of New Albany, Salem, Bedford, Bloom- 
ington and Greencastle. If the railroad was not practi- 
cable, a pike was to be built over the same route. Seventh, 
to improve the Wabash River from Vincennes to its mouth. 
Eighth, a canal, or railroad from the Erie and Wabash 
Canal near Fort Wayne, to Lake Michigan, at, or near 
Michigan City, by way of Goshen, South Bend and La 
Porte. 



ERA OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 183 

Work Begun. At first all went well. Governor Noble, 
in his message to the legislature in December, 1837, said: — 
''In the experience and events of the year, nothing has been 
witnessed of a character to discourage the progress or the 
ultimate success of the system. On the contrary, we see 
much to strengthen our convictions of the wisdom of the 
policy, and to inspire us with increased confidence in the 
ability of the state, with wise and provident legislation, to 
accomplish the whole undertaking." And certainly it 
looked as though the Governor's confidence was well 
founded. By the system every part of the state would 
be benefited. The estimated cost was only $20,000,000, 
and of this sum the legislature appropriated $10,000,000 
and issued bonds for the remaining amount. A board of 
public works had been appointed to superintend the 
construction, and had let contracts and seen the work 
begun on all of the most important of the projects. At 
the time Governor Noble delivered his message the work 
was just under way, and the entire state was exulting in 
a wave of prosperity and optimism. 

Period of Great Prosperity. For a short time this happy 
condition continued. The people had no doubt whatever 
of the final success of the great system of improvements. 
The revenue from them, it was popularly supposed, would 
be so great as to fill the state treasury and make taxation 
unnecessary. Labor was for a time in such demand that 
no one needed to be idle; and the wages paid were high. 
Every one had money to spend, and seemed able to get 
plenty more. Property increased in value, and land along 
the lines of the proposed improvements sold for what were 
then fabulous sums. People speculated wildly, for they 
were seized by the desire to "get rich quick." 

Failure of the Plan. Several factors contributed to the 
failure of the system and the collapse of the mushroom 



184 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

growth of prosperity that had sprung up because of the 
projected improvements. The first reason lay in unwise 
legislation, due largely to the ignorance of the legislators 
regarding the great system the state had undertaken to 
build. The funds were managed extravagantly, and the 
inflated values of land and labor made the cost of the pro- 
jected improvements much greater than had been esti- 
mated. The board of public works was poorly organized 
and its administration of funds was careless. Then in the 
latter part of 1837, began a financial panic with all of the 
scarcity of money and the financial paralysis that accom- 
pany these periodic disturbances. 

Governor Wallace's Message. In December, 1839, 
Governor Wallace spoke of the crisis to the legislature in 
the following section of his annual message: ^'The failure to 
procure funds . . . has lead to great and unusual 
embarrassments, not only among the contractors and 
laborers, but also among the people. The state has, in 
consequence fallen largely in debt to the former, and is with- 
out means in possession to discharge it." 

"Red Dog" Currency. In order to pay the contractors, 
the legislature authorized an issue of state treasury notes 
to the amount of one million five-hundred thousand dollars. 
This state script, as it was called, passed at face value for 
a short time, but soon depreciated until it was worth only 
forty or fifty cents on the dollar. Naturally a depreciated 
paper currency did not help the financial situation. Because 
it was printed on red paper, people contemptuously spoke 
of it as ^'red dog" currency. When at last the state began 
redeeming it, the currency rose again to face value, and 
was even worth a premium l)ecauso of tlu^ accumulated 
interest. 

"Blue Pup" Currency. While the panic lasted real 
money was very scarce. Merchants, contractors and 



ERA OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 185 

others, resorted to the issue of private paper currency, 
which was redeemable usually only in trade. This, because 
it was often printed on blue paper, was spoken of as "blue 
pup" currency. In addition to the "red dog" and "blue 
pup" paper money, other depreciated paper currency, 
issued by "wild cat" banks in surrounding states, flooded 
Indiana. 

Condition of the State. In the next few years various 
measures to relieve the state were adopted. That the large 
sums already expended might not be a total loss, arrange- 
ments were made to turn over the half-finished improve- 
ments to private companies. The total length of canals, 
railroads and turnpikes, projected in 1836, amounted to 
twelve hundred and eighty-one miles. In the year 1841, 
only two hundred and eighty miles of these improvements 
had been built, and the state found herself $15,088,146 in 
debt, and unable to pay even the interest due on this sum. 

Prosperity Returns. Within the next ten years, through 
careful administration, the state was placed once more on 
her feet financially, public confidence returned, and busi- 
ness again resumed its normal activity. Never has the 
state seen such a boom, and enjoyed such prosperity as she 
did in the brief period when the internal improvements 
were begun; and never has she suffered another such a 
period of depression as that following upon the failure of 
the great plan. 

Texas Secures Her Independence. In 1845 the United 
States became involved in a war with Mexico over the 
western boundary of Texas. Texas was originally part of 
Mexico, but American settlers were attracted by its fertile 
soil, and, by 1830, formed a majority of the population. 
The ideas of government held by these American settlers 
were very different from those of the Mexicans. Then, too, 
the Americans differed greatly in race, manner of living and 



186 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

religion. Friction was the result, and the Americans finally 
declared themselves unable to live under Mexican rule. 
So, in 1836, Texas revolted and declared herself independ- 
ent of the Mexican government. In the battle of San 
Jacinto the Texans were victorious, and their independence 
was assured. 

Texas Annexed. War with Mexico. The next step was 
to secure annexation to the United States, but it was not 
until 1845 that Congress saw fit to pass a law making 
Texas a part of our country. It was at the time of her 
annexation thrvt the dispute arose over the western boun- 
dary of Texas. United States troops were sent to occupy 
the disputed territory and were attacked by the Mexicans. 
This led Congress to declare war, and the President issued 
a call for 50,000 volunteers. 

Indiana Responds to the President's Call. Indiana was 
but poorly prepared to supply men for the war. The mili- 
tia system had been abandoned, and very few of the men 
in the state had experience or knowledge in military serv- 
ice. But the desire to serve their country was strong, and 
when President Polk sent out the call for volunteers, 
Indiana furnished five regiments, comprising 4,470 officers 
and men. 

Service of Indiana Soldiers in the War. The fact that 
few of this number had ever seen service, studied military 
tactics, or practiced drill, placed the troops at a disadvan- 
tage, particularly when compared with those from south- 
ern states, which were made up of men trained in military 
service and officered by West Point graduates. But despite 
their disadvantages the Indiana troops were brave and 
efficient soldiers. Only one exception to this statement 
occurred throughout the war, and is excusable when we 
consider tliat prol)ably none of the men concerned had 
ever before faced the fire of battle. At the Battle of Buena 



ERA OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 187 

Vista, February 22, 1847, the second regiment broke and 
fled from the field. This unfortunate incident cast a stain 
upon Indiana's military record that only the service she 
performed during the Civil War could wipe out. But the 
regiment had some excuse for its action, and the critics of 
the time were unnecessarily harsh in their open condem- 
nation. The position of the Second Indiana was most peril- 
ous. They occupied a place far in advance of the other 
American troops, and were exposed to a murderous fire of 
musketry and artillery. Green soldiers as they were, it is 
little wonder that they did not stand their ground. The 
Indiana volunteers were in service less than a year. Their 
loss amounted to two hundred and sixty-eight men, of 
whom fifty were killed in battle, and two hundred and 
eighteen died of wounds and disease. 

End of the War. The war ended in complete victory 
for the United States, and Mexico was forced to accept 
whatever terms our government dictated. The terms were 
most advantageous for us, for by the treaty the United 
States secured the territory now comprised in Texas, New 
Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California, an area of 
890,000 square miles, for an indemnity of only 518,000,000. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1850. 
GOVERNMENT OF INDIANA 

Constitutional Convention Called. By 1850 the feeling 
that Indiana had outgrown her old constitution was gen- 
eral throughout the state. When the proposition to call 
a constitutional convention was put before the people, 
they voted in the affirmative. The convention assembled 
at Indianapolis on October 7, 1850, and continued in ses- 
sion until February 10, 1851. 

The New Constitution Adopted. The constitution of 
1816 was made the basis of the new constitution, though 
many important changes were made and new measures 
introduced. The new constitution was voted on by the 
people, and adopted by a vote of 109,319 to 26,755. On 
one article, the thirteenth, a separate vote was taken, but 
it was adopted by practically the same majority. 

Discrimination Against Negroes. The thirteenth arti- 
cle of the new constitution provided that: ''No negro or 
mulatto shall come into, or settle in the state after the 
adoption of this constitution." Contracts made with those 
violating this provision were void, and any one employ- 
ing or aiding such persons was subject to a fine. The fines 
collected were to form a colonization fund to be used for 
negroes, already in the state, who were willing to emigrate. 
Article two granted suffrage to ''every white male citizen 
of the United States," and in the fifth section specified 
that: "No negro or mulatto shall have the right to vote." 
Amendments removing these restrictions, and giving the 

188 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1850 189 

negro the right of suffrage were agreed to by the general 
assembUes of 1877 and 1879. On March 14, 1881, they 
were ratified by the voters of the state. 

New Measures and Changes in the Constitution. The 
following important changes and new measures were intro- 
duced into the constitution of 1851: The sessions of the 
general assembly were made biennial instead of annual; 
the right to elect the secretary, treasurer and auditor of 
state was taken from the legislature and put in the hands 
of the people; instead of being appointed by the governor, 
supreme court judges were made elective by the electors 
of the state at large; circuit judges were to be elected by 
the voters of their districts; special legislation of a local 
nature was prohibited; under the heading of ^'Corpora- 
tions," general banking laws were provided, and the state 
was forbidden to become a stockholder in any bank or 
corporation; the cause of public education received much 
attention, and the provisions made were definite, wise and 
generous. 

Distribution of Powers. The state constitution divides 
the powers of government into three separate departments : 
The legislative, executive, and judicial. These branches 
are made as nearly independent as possible, and are intended 
to serve as checks upon one another. The constitution pro- 
vides that: '^No person charged with official duties under 
one of these departments shall exercise any of the func- 
tions of another, except as . . . expressly provided." 

The Legislative Department. The authority to make 
laws for the state of Indiana is vested in a general assembly, 
consisting of a senate and house of representatives. 

Membership. The senate may not exceed fifty mem- 
bers, and the house of representatives may not exceed one 
hundred meml)ers. The meml)ership of each division is 
now at its maximum. Both senators and representatives 



190 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

are chosen by the voters of the respective counties and dis- 
tricts of the state. The term of a senator is four years, and 
of a representative two years. One-half of the senators 
are elected biennially, so that there are always some experi- 
enced men in the upper house. To be qualified for the sen- 
ate or the house of representatives, a man must be a citi- 
zen of the United States, two years an inhabitant of Indi- 
ana, and one year an inhabitant of the district or county 
from which he is chosen. A senator must be at least twenty- 
five years, and a representative twenty-one years of age. 

Sessions. The sessions of the general assembly are 
held in the odd years, beginning on the ^'Thursday next 
after the first Monday in January." Their duration is 
limited to sixty-one days, but special sessions, limited to 
forty days, may be called by the Governor at any time he 
may think the public welfare demands. The Lieutenant 
Governor is president of the senate by virtue of his office. 
The senate elects one of its members to serve as president 
in his absence. The house of representatives elects its own 
presiding officer, known as the ' 'Speaker." The sessions 
of the senate and the house of representatives are open to 
the public except in those cases when, in the opinion of 
either body, its sessions demand secrecy. Two-thirds of 
either bodj^ constitutes a quorum to do business; but a 
smaller number may meet, adjourn from day to day, and 
compel the attendance of absent members. Either the 
senate or the house of representatives may punish its mem- 
bers for disorderly behavior, and may, with the concur- 
rence of two-thirds, expel a member; but not a second 
time for the same cause. 

The Making of Laws. Bills may originate in either 
house, but may be amended or rejected in the other. The 
exceptions are bills for raising revenue, which must origi- 
nate in the house of representatives. Every l^ill must be 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1850 191 

rt^ad by sections on thrt^e different days in each house, 
though in an emerj>;ency a two-thirds vote may set asidc^ 
this rule. Each ])ill may embrace but one subject, and the 
matters connected with it, and this subject must be 
expressed in the title. All laws are required to be general 
and to operate uniformly throughout the state. The con- 
stitution specifically enumerates seventeen subjects on 
which the legislature is forbidden to pass special legisla- 
tion. After a bill has received a majority of the votes of 
each house, it must be signed by the president of the sen- 
ate and the speaker of the house. It then passes to the 
Governor for his signature. If he signs it, it becomes a 
law as soon as it is published and circulated in all the coun- 
ties, unless an emergency clause specifies that it go into 
effect at once. If the Governor refuses to sign the bill, he 
sends it back, with the reasons for his action, to the house 
in which it originated. If the two houses still favor the 
bill, they may pass it over the Governor's veto. If any 
bill is not returned by the Governor within three days 
after it has been received by him, Sundays excepted, it 
becomes a law without his signature. The exception to this 
is at the end of a session when the general adjournment 
prevents the bill's return. In such a case it becomes a law 
unless the Governor files it, with his objections, within five 
days after the adjournment with the secretary of state. It 
then comes up before the next general assembly in the 
same manner as a bill vetoed during the session. 

The Executive. The executive powers of the state are 
vested in a Governor, who holds his office during four years, 
and is not eligible to more than four years in any period of 
eight years. The Lieutenant Governor also serves for a 
period of four years. Both are elected ''at the times and 
places of choosing members of the general assembly." In 
case of a contested election, the general assembly decides 



192 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

the matter. To be eligible for Governor or Lieutenant 
Governor, a person must have been five years a citizen of 
the United States, and a resident of Indiana during the 
five years preceding his election. For either office the can- 
didate must be at least thirty years of age. In case of the 
Governor's removal from office, or his death, he is suc- 
ceeded by the Lieutenant Governor, and the successor of 
the latter is elected by the general assembly. The Gov- 
ernor is commander-in-chief of all of the military and naval 
forces of the state, has the right to veto all bills, as before 
stated, and has the power to '^grant reprieves, commuta- 
tions and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses except 
treason and cases of impeachment." The Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor is, by virtue of his office, president of the senate. 
He has a right, when in committee of the whole, to join in 
the debate and vote on all subjects. Whenever the sen- 
ate is equally divided the Lieutenant Governor may cast 
the deciding vote. 

Administrative Officers. The various state administra- 
tive officers divide with the Governor the executive func- 
tions. They are not subordinate to, but coordinate with 
him. The chief of these administrative officers are: The 
secretary, treasurer and auditor of state, the superintend- 
ent of public instruction, the attorney general, the state 
geologist and the state statistician. They are chosen at the 
general elections. The other state officers and the mem- 
bers of the boards of the various state educational, benevo- 
lent and penal institutions also share the executive func- 
tions. 

The Judicial. Under the constitution, the judicial power 
of the state is vested in a supreme court, circuit courts, and 
such other courts as the general assembly shall see fit to 
establish. Acting under this latter provision, the legisla- 
ture has instituted an appellate court for the state at large, 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1850 193 

superior and criminal courts for certain counties, has 
authorized mayors' courts and pohce courts for cities, and 
has made the superior court of Marion County a court of 
claims. The courts of justices of the peace were estab- 
lished by the constitution. 

The Supreme Court. The purposes of a trial in the 
supreme court are to determine whether a law has received 
its proper application by the lower courts, and whether it 
is in harmony with the provisions of the constitution. The 
judges are elected by all the voters of the state, one from 
each judicial district. There can not be fewer than three, 
or more than five. The maximum number now serve. 
The term is six years. 

The Appellate Court. The apellate court was created in 
1891 to relieve the pressure on the supreme court. It has 
jurisdiction over all appealable cases not expressly under 
the jurisdiction of the supreme court. Its judgments are 
final, except in cases where the amount involved exceeds 
$6,000. The object of all regulations in regard to the appel- 
late court is to keep its rulings in general conformity with 
those of the supreme court. It consists of six judges, whose 
term of office is four years. The court is divided into two 
divisions, each of which has three judges elected from the 
two appellate court districts of the state. Cases arising in 
one district are tried by judges of the other district. 

Circuit Courts. There are sixty-one circuit courts in 
the state. In each circuit a judge is elected by the voters 
for a term of six years. This judge presides over the court 
in the county or counties comprising his circuit. The cir- 
cuit courts possess criminal, civil, equity and probate juris- 
diction. In each circuit a prosecuting attorney is elected 
every two years. 

Superior Courts. In Allen, Marion, Tippecanoe, Van- 
derburg, Vigo, Madison, Grant and Howard counties, and 



194 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

in the district composed of Lake, Porter and La Porte 
counties, superior courts have been estabUshed. In gen- 
eral, the superior courts have concurrent jurisdiction with 
the circuit courts, which they were created to reUeve. The 
Marion County superior court is recognized as a court of 
claims to decide cases in which persons make a money 
demand against the state. 

Criminal Courts. In Marion, Allen and Vigo counties, 
criminal courts have been created. They have original 
exclusive jurisdiction of all crimes and misdemeanors, 
except where jurisdiction is by law conferred upon jus- 
tices of the peace, and such appellate jurisdiction in crimi- 
nal cases as the circuit courts of those counties exercised 
before the creation of the criminal courts. The criminal 
courts in Allen and Vigo counties have now been abolished, 
leaving only the one in Marion County. 

Municipal Courts. In cities of the first, second, third 
and fourth classes, municipal courts are provided. The 
judges are elected for four years. Such courts have juris- 
diction over misdemeanors and petty offenses of various 
sorts, where the penalty can not exceed a fine of $500. In 
cities of the fifth class the mayor serves as judge of the 
municipal court. 

The Township. The township is the simplest and old- 
est of our governmental institutions. Each county is 
divided into as many townships as convenience demands. 
The officers for each township are: A township trustee, 
three members of his advisory board, an assessor, one or 
more justices of the peace, and an equal number of con- 
stables, a supervisor for each road cUsrict, and a director 
for each school district. The township trustee is the most 
important township officer. His powers embrace matters 
concerned with financial affairs, roads, elections, the poor, 
and the schools. * 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1850 195 

The County. Since 1851, Indiana has been divided into 
ninety-two counties. For each of these there is a county 
seat where the court-house, jail and other public Imildings 
of the county are located. All county officers, except the 
superintendent of schools, are elected by the people. 
They are the commissioners, the five members of the 
county council, the clerk of the circuit court, the auditor, 
the recorder, the treasurer, the sheriff, the coroner, the 
surveyor and the assessor. The township trustees choose 
the county superintendent of schools. The officers of 
the county serve in the administraton of the laws of the 
state in the district under their jurisdiction, and as the 
agents of the people of the county in the performance of 
those services which concern the county and its inhab- 
itants as distinct from the rest of the state. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

IN])IANA SCHOOLS 

School Legislation. The legislature of 1851-52 was the 
first general assembly to meet after the adoption of the new 
constitution, and was confronted with the task of putting 
this constitution into effect. The cause of public educa- 
tion had received much attention in the convention, and 
wise provisions for a public school system were incorpo- 
rated in the constitution. To put these provisions into 
effect, the legislature passed a number of educational laws. 
A law authorizing the townships to levy taxes for school 
purposes, not to exceed fifty cents on the dollar, and fifty 
cents on each poll, gave elementary education a great 
impetus. This law, however, was short lived, for the courts 
decided that it was inconsistent with the constitution, 
which provided for a state system of schools. The immed- 
iate effect of this decision was to shorten the average 
school term to about two and one-half months, and reduce 
the average yearly salary of teachers to $54. Curiously 
enough this decision did not affect cities and incorporated 
to\^^ls. They continued to exercise the right to levy a 
local tuition, and for a few years enjoyed great prosperity. 
At last, however, a decision of the courts took away from 
them this right. In most of the cities and towns the 
schools were closed, many of the best teachers left the 
state, and the people generally were discouraged. To 
give some chance for education, a number of the old sem- 
inaries were reopened, and a few new ones were established. 
The conditions were so unsatisfactory that finally the 

196 



INDIANA SCHOOLS 



197 



legislature was induced to reenact the law that had been 
declared unconstitutional. This law, establishing the right 
to levy local tuition taxes, has remained in operation ever 
since, and has made it possible for each communit}- to 
have as good schools as it is willing to pay for. 

The State Board of Education. Another law of 1852 
created a state board of education, consisting of the Gov- 
ernor, treasurer, auditor and secretary of state, and the 




TYPE OF SCHOOL THAT IS DISAPPEARING 



superintendent of pubic instruction. In 1855 the attorney- 
general was added. This board had general oversight of 
the school fund, and also selected textbooks. The board, 
with the exception of the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, was nonprofessional. Indiana was fortunate in dis- 
covering early that such a board could not manage educa- 
tional affairs properly. In 1865 this board was replaced 
by a board made up of the Governor, the president of 
Indiana University, the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, and the school superintendents of the three largest 



198 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

cities in the state. In 1872 the president of the State Nor- 
mal School was added, and in 1875 the president of Purdue 
University. In 1889 the Governor was authorized to 
appoint three additional members, one of whom must be 
a county superintendent, and all of whom must be actually 
engaged in educational work. Experience has shown this 
to be a real educational board. Critics generally agree that 
it is the best state board of education in the nation. School 
prosperity in the state is due to the wise direction of this 
board, and to the careful charge which it gives to educa- 
tional matters. It inspects and commissions schools, has 
general oversight of accredited schools for the training of 
teachers, selects and contracts for the uniform textbooks 
used in the state, and examines and licenses teachers. 

Indiana School Fund. Indiana is fortunate in having 
a large, permanent school fund. This fund now amounts 
to more than $11,300,000, and is so carefuU}^ guarded that 
its principal can never be reduced. This fund has accumu- 
lated from the following sources: — 

1. The sale of the 16th section of each township [granted 
by the federal government. 

2. The money received from the profits of the state 
bank. 

3. Money received from the national treasury in 1836. 

4. Receipts from salt and swamp lands. 

5. Proceeds from the sale of the county seminaries. 

6. Receipts from fines and forfeitures. 

The County Superintendent. The county superinten- 
dent of schools is a great factor in the educational work of 
the state. This office was created by the legislature in 
1873. Previous to this time there was an officer known as 
the county examiner who had several duties to perform, 
the most important of which was the examination and 
licensing of teachers. The county superintendent serves 



INDIANA SCHOOLS 



201 



four years. He has control of the schools of his county, 
and is the medium of correspondence between the schools 
and the superintendent of public instruction. Much of 
the success of the common schools is due to the direct 
supervision and inspiring leadership of this officer. 

The Present School System. Indiana has enacted laws 
which make it possible to consolidate schools and trans- 



■ 



n-'^ 



'^^^ 




TYPE OF SCHOOL THAT IS APPEARING 

port pupils. These laws have resulted in replacing in many 
parts of the state the old country school house, with its 
meagre equipment, by a centrally located building with 
good equipment, good teachers and a well-organized course. 
The early definition of the high school as part of the com- 
mon school system has made it easy to develop secondary 
education to a higher degree than is found in most states. 
The whole educational organization gives to Indiana a 



202 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

school system. This system, with its small number of 
responsible officers, has been able to get things done. 
Today, more than ever before, the common schools are 
the hope of the state. 

Interdependence of Educational Units. Neither the 
elementary schools nor the high schools could have devel- 
oped to their present efficient condition had it not been 
for the interest of the people in higher education. The 
three phases of education, elementary, secondary and col- 
lege, are not independent. No one of these phases can 
become what it should be independent of the others. Indi- 
ana's high rank educationally is due in large measure to 
the fact that all three phases have been developed together 
and have mutually helped one another. 

Vincennes University. The first institution of higher 
education established in Indiana was Vincennes University. 
The courts of the United States set apart a township in 
Gibson county to be used for the support of the institution. 
The university was incorporated by an act of the territorial 
legislature in 1806. This legislature designated a board of 
trustees, and gave them power to make laws and organize 
the university in a manner '^not inconsistent with the laws 
of the territory or of the United States." William Henry 
Harrison, Governor of Indiana Territory, was president 
of the Board of Trustees. To his learning and enthusiasm 
the new institution was greatly indebted. The university 
was to be open to the Indians, for in the charter it was 
* 'enjoined on the said trustees to use their utmost endeav- 
ors to induce the said aborigines to send their children to 
the university for education, who, when sent, shall be main- 
tained, clothed, and educated at the expense of said insti- 
tution." It seems that this very liberal plan of the institu- 
tion was not attractive to the Indian. So far as the records 
shoAv, onlv one Indian was ever admitted as a student. The 



INDIANA SCHOOLS 205 

new school had a hard struggle during its early years. 
In 1824 its lands were appropriated for the support of the 
seminary at Bloomington. For a number of years its 
doors were closed. In 1846 an act of the legislature enabled 
the university to luring suit against the state for the funds 
that it had appropriated. Finally, through a decision of 
the supreme court, the university recovered from the state 
$66,585. In 1895 the legislature gave the institution 
$15,000. In 1911, as the result of further legislation and 
court decisions, the university received $134,548 from 
the state. Vincennes University is now better able to per- 
form her duties to the public than ever before. She has 
had a long list of strong, capable teachers and has gradu- 
ated many men and women who have made valuable con- 
tributions to the development of the state. 

Indiana University. When Indiana became a state, it 
was provided that a township of land should be set apart 
for a seminary of learning. This township was located by 
President Monroe in Monroe county. The land was not 
to be available until four years after the admission of the 
state to the Union. The legislature of the new state 
passed a bill founding Indiana Seminary , January 20, 1820. 
A board of trustees was designated and was authorized 
to make plans for the opening of the new school. May 
1, 1825, the institution was opened for students. Professor 
Raynard R. Hall was the first teacher, and for a few years 
the only one. His salary at first was $150 per annum. This 
was later raised to $400, and he was given an assistant at 
a salary of $300. The attendance at the seminary was 13 
students the first year, 15 the second, and 21 the third. 
In 1828 the title Indiana Seminary was changed to Indiana 
College. One of the most fortunate things that happened 
to the new institution in 1829, was the election of Dr. 
Andrew Wiley as president. He remained at the head of 



20G THE STORY OF INDIANA 

the college until 1851. He was a man of learning, an able 
teacher, and a forceful pubhc lecturer. He did much to 
popularize the institution with the people of the state. In 
1838 the legislature changed the name of the institution 
from Indiana College to Indiana University. The state 
has not supported its university as well as some of the 
neighboring states have supported theirs. But the money 
given to it has been made to do great service. The liber- 
ality of the state toward the institution has increased from 
year to year. The college of arts and sciences, the college 
of law, the school of education and the graduate school 
are located at Bloomington. The medical college is located 
in the city of Indianapolis. The attendance at the univer- 
sity has reached more than 2,500 annually, and the influ- 
ence and service of the institution have become great 
factors in the state. 

Purdue University. In 1865, the state accepted the pro- 
vision of the Morrill Act of 1862. A board of trustees was 
appointed to manage an institution under the name of the 
Indiana Agricultural College. On the receipt of a gift of 
$150,000 from John Purdue, the state agreed to name the 
institution Purdue University. The state also accepted a 
gift of 100 acres of land from the citizens of LaFayette, and 
a donation of $50,000 from Tippecanoe county. The insti- 
tution was located at West LaFayette, and was opened 
to students on the 20th cf March, 1874. Under the 
direction of able presidents and a strong faculty, this insti- 
tution has grown to be one of the best known technical and 
agricultural colleges in the country. Its direct value to the 
state in an agricultural way can not be estimated. It has 
done and is doing, work that answers practical questions 
upon all forms of agricultural life. In the training of engi- 
neers of various kinds it has rendered a service of equal 
importance. 



INDIANA SCHOOLS 209 

The State Normal. In I860 an act was passed provid- 
ing for the estabhshnient of ''a state normal school, the 
object of which shall be the preparation of teachers for 
teaching in the common schools of Indiana." The school 
was located at Terre Haute, because this city donated 
the site, gave $50,000 toward the building, and obligated 
itself to pay annually one-half the necessary expenses for 
repairs. The school is managed by a board of five trustees, 
four of whom are appointed by the Governor, and the fifth 
is the superintendent of public instruction. The normal 
school was opened in January, 1870. It at once took a 
leading place among the normal schools of the country. It 
has maintained this position by adhering strictly to its 
purpose — the preparation of teachers — by presenting a well 
organized course of study, by keeping step with tall really 
progressive movements, and by employing a strong fac- 
ulty. A recent law places the normal school at the head of 
the accredited schools of the state. 

Hanover College. On January 1, 1827, Rev. John Fin- 
ley Crowe opened Hanover Academy in a log cabin where 
the Presbyterian church in Hanover now stands. He was 
requested to do this by the Presbytery of Salem. In the 
latter part of December, 1828, Hanover Academy was 
regularly incorporated b}^ the legislature. In 1829 the new 
school was formally adopted by the Synod of Indiana. One 
of the conditions of this adoption was the opening of a 
theological department. Such a department was main- 
tained until 1840, when it was moved to New Albany. 
Three years later it was moved to Chicago, where it formed 
the beginning of what is now known as McCormick Theo- 
logical Seminary. In 1833 a new act of incorporation 
granted by the legislature changed the institution to Han- 
over College. For a number of years after its opening as 
a college, it attempted to operate under what was known 



210 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

as the manual labor system. Students were expected to 
work at some trade. A number of different shops were 
opened in connection with the school. The attempt, how- 
ever, ended in failure and produced a debt which embar- 
rassed the institution for a number of years. The college 
is now enjoying a period of prosperity. It has edu- 
cated many men who have won distinction in various fields 
of work. The college has been co-educational since 1880. 

Wabash College. In 1832 five Presbyterian home mis- 
sionaries met at the little village of Crawfordsville, and 
after considering the needs of the church and people, 
decided to establish a school. Judge Williamson Dunn, 
who had donated the ground for Hanover College, also 
donated the ground for this new school. The school was 
named the Wabash Manual Labor College and Teachers' 
Seminary. It was opened in December, 1833, under 
the charge of Caleb Mills, with twelve students in atten- 
dance. In 1834 the legislature was asked for a charter. 
After considerable trouble, a charter was secured, but it 
was not as liberal as it should have been, and hence did not 
give the institution the opportunity to grow that it ought 
to have had. In 1851 a new charter was received and the 
name of the institution changed to Wabash College. The 
institution has had an honorable history, and has always 
maintained a strong faculty and a well-balanced course 
of study. It has never admitted women to its courses. 

Franklin College. In 1834 the Indiana Baptist Educa- 
tional Society was organized in Indianapolis. A year later 
this Society decided to establish at Franklin an institution to 
be known as the Indiana Baptist Manual Labor Institute. 
The school was opened in the fall of 1837, under the direct- 
ion of Rev. Albert Freeman Tilton. The school received 
a legislative charter in 1844, and changed its name to 
Franklin College. Although this college had many teach- 



INDIANA SCHOOLS 213 

ers of high repute, it met great financial difficulties. During 
the Civil War practically the entire student body enlisted, 
and the college was closed for several years. After the war 
it was reopened, but it still had great difficulty in secur- 
ing funds. In January, 1872, the work of the college 
was suspended. From this suspension, a reorganization 
resulted. The college reopened in September, 1872, with 
Rev. W. T. Stott as President. Under Dr. Stott and 
his successors it has had continued gro\\i)h. It is now in a 
prosperous condition, and exerts a strong and helpful 
influence. 

De Pauw University. In 1832 the Indiana Conference 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church considered the matter 
of founding a conference seminary or college. Early in 
1837 a legislative charter was granted for the establish- 
ment of the Indiana Asbury University. The university 
was named in honor of Bishop Asbury, who was one of the 
most illustrous pioneer bishops of the church. It was 
located at Greencastle, and instruction was begun in 1836, 
in a rented house, under the direction of Rev. Cyrus Nutt. 
The first president of the University was Bishop Matthew 
Simpson, who served from 1839 to 1843. In 1884, by 
proper legal action, the name of the institution was changed 
to De Pauw Universit3^ The new name was in honor of 
W. C. De Pauw, of New Albany, who made liberal gifts of 
his wealth to the university. Under the impetus of its 
new endowment, the university had a rapid gro^^i:h. It has 
had many strong men in its faculty, and has been unusu- 
ally fortunate in its graduates, many of whom have distin- 
guished themselves in public service. 

Earlham College. Among the early settlers in Indiana 
were many Friends. Their interest in education led them 
to found schools of both primary and academic grades. As 
early as 1837, the Indiana Yearly Meeting took steps to 



214 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

found a high grade boarding school, which should be the head 
of the other schools under the control of the church. The 
school was opened at Richmond in 1847. Both sexes were 
admitted. This was unusual for that time. In 1859 the 
school was chartered as Earlham College. Since 1879 the 
institution has been under the joint control of the Indiana 
and Western Yearly Meetings, two large bodies of orthodox 
Friends. The institution maintains courses of high rank. 
It has exerted a wholesome influence on practical science 
instruction. Earlham was the first college in Indiana to 
make a collection of material in geology and natural 
history for college instruction, the first to establish an 
astronomical observatory, and the first to open a chemical 
laboratory for the use of students. 

University of Notre Dame. One of the great schools 
under Catholic control is the University of Notre Dame du 
Lac, near South Bend. The land now occupied by this insti- 
tution was purchased from the government by the Very Rev. 
S. T. Badin, in 1830. Father Badin soon transferred the 
title to the Bishop of Vincennes. In response to the Bish- 
op's call for missionaries to labor in Indiana, Father E. F. 
Sorin and six associates, all members of the Congregation 
of the Holy Cross, volunteered. They left France in August, 
1841. The journey was long and tedious. For lack of means 
they crossed the ocean as steerage passengers. The trip 
from New York to Vincennes required twenty-five days of 
tedious and tiresome travel. Their first intention was to 
establish a school at St. Peter's Mission, in Daviess county, 
but the matter was settled otherwise by the Bishop. He 
deeded to Father Sorin the land on the St. Joseph, which 
Father Badin had transferred to him a few years before. 
With a few hundred dollars presented by the Bishop, and 
the scant supplies they could gather together, the little band 
of enthusiasts made their journey through the wilderness to 



INDIANA SCHOOLS 217 

their new home. Work was begun at once. Land was cleared 
and a few small buildings erected. The university received 
its charter in 1844. In June of that year the first college 
building was occupied, and in August the first commence- 
ment was held. Previous to June the students had been 
taught in a farm house. From these simple beginnings 
has developed one of the largest and most beautiful college 
plants in the country, and an institution of learning that 
ranks with the best. 

St. Meinrad's. At St. Meinrad, in Dubois county, is 
located St. Meinrad's Abbey. This institution is under the 
control of the Benedictine Order. It is made up of three 
distinct departments with their separate faculties: St. 
Meinrad's Seminary, St. Meinrad's College, and Jasper 
College. The first two are exclusively for ecclesiastical 
students, and are located at St. Meinrad. The last named 
is for secular students, and is located at Jasper. The insti- 
tution had its beginning in 1852. It is located in a beau- 
tiful and retired part of the state, where the advantages 
for quiet and peaceful meditation are unexcelled. 

■ Oldenburg. At Oldenburg, the Catholic church main- 
tains an institution for the preparation of priests. This 
institution is in charge of the Franciscan Fathers, which 
is one of the largest religious congregations of the Roman 
Catholic Church. The Oldenburg House of Studies, known 
as the Theologicate, was opened to students in 1874. Prac- 
tically all the studies are carried on in Latin. All students 
received here are members of the Franciscan Order. 

Butler College. Because of interest aroused and action 
taken by the Christian churches of Indiana, a charter was 
granted by the legislature in 1849 which went into effect 
January, 1850, for the establishment of Northwestern 
Christian University. The doors to this school were first 
opened November 1, 1855. In 1875 the institution was 



218 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

moved from its location on College avenue, Indianapolis, 
to Irvington. The name of the institution was later 
changed to Butler University, in honor of Ovid Butler who 
had given time and money to the school. The institution 
has always stood for high standards, and has exerted a 
wholesome influence upon the educational work of the 
state. 

Rose Polytechnic. Chauncey Rose was one of the ear- 
liest settlers in what is now Terre Haute. He played an 
important part in the development of that city. Late in 
life he became interested in the establishment of a school 
devoted to the technical training of young men. His plans 
finally crystallized, and in 1874 a school was incorporated 
under the name of Terre Haute School of Industrial 
Science. A j^ear later, the board of managers decided 
to change the name to the Rose Polj^technic Institute. Mr. 
Rose himself protested earnestly against a change of name, 
but the desire of his associates was so strong and unani- 
mous that they overruled him. The bequest of Mr. Rose 
was allowed to accumulate until 1883, when the first stu- 
dents were admitted. The first graduating class was that 
of 1885. Rose Polytechnic at once took an important 
place among the technical schools of the country. Its 
equipment, its teachers and its course of study have always 
been of the very highest grade. 

Other Colleges. There are a number of small colleges 
in different parts of the state, all of which are doing good 
work and contributing their share to the intellectual and 
moral development of the state's citizenship. Among 
these may be named INIoore's Hill College, under the con- 
trol of the Methodist church; Taylor University at Upland, 
under the control of the local preachers of the Methodist 
Episcopal church; Goshen College, under the control of the 
Mennonites; North Manchester College, under the control 



INDIANA SCHOOLS 221 

of the Church of the Brethren; Central College at Hun- 
tington, under the control of the United Brethren in Chri.st 
(old constitution) ; Concordia College, at Ft. Wayne, under 
the control of the German Lutherans; Union Christian 
College, at Merom, under the control of the Christians 
(New Light); Oakland City College, under the control 
of the General Baptists; and the Indiana Central Uni- 
versity, at Indianapolis, under the control of the LTnited 
Brethren church. 

Education of Women. Indiana has no institution of 
college grade exclusively for women. Nearly all the col- 
leges of the state are co-educational, and women take 
advantage of the opportunities offered in these institutions. 
There are a number of schools for girls, many of which 
are of more advanced grade than ordinary secondary 
schools. Very valuable schools of this sort are under 
the control of various orders of sisters of the Catholic 
church. Some of the prominent ones are located at Olden- 
burg, Terre Haute, South Bend, Indianapolis, LaFayette 
and Fort Wayne. 

Valparaiso University. In September, 1873, there came 
to Valparaiso, Indiana, a young man who, on the 16th of 
that month, opened a school in the old seminary buildings, 
with four instructors and thirty-five students present. The 
plan of H. B. Brown, the founder of this school, was quite 
different from the plans in operation in the older schools 
of the state. He believed that the school should be open 
throughout the entire year, and that the courses should be 
arranged so that a student could enter at any time and 
find work adapted to his needs. The institution has 
increased from the thirty-five on the entrance day, to an 
annual attendance of more than five thousand five hun- 
dred. It has grown from the Northern Indiana Normal 
School, the name it took at its opening, to a great university, 



222 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

with colleges of music, art, law, medicine, dentistr}^ and 
liberal arts, as well as a complete^ organized normal school. 
The institution has no endowment. It has developed its 
splendid plant and equipment and maintained a high 
course of instruction solely from the tuition receipts. The 
school occupies an important place in the educational 
affairs of the entire country, and has contributed much to 
the development of Indiana. 

Independent Normals. The independent normal school 
has been an important factor in the training of teachers 
and in the education of the citizens of Indiana. As noted 
above, Valparaiso University Avas founded as a normal 
school. Other normal schools in the state that are doing 
good work, are the Central Normal at Danville, Marion 
Normal at Marion, and Tri-Stafce College at Angola. 
The Southern Indiana Normal at Mitchell had a flourish- 
ing existence for a number of years, but some years 
ago a fire destroyed its buildings, and it was not reopened. 



i 







i^ ^r M 



CHAPTER XIX 

INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 

PART I 

Causes of the Civil War. The events leading up to the 
Civil War are matters of national instead of state history, 
but it is necessary to review them here before taking up 
Indiana's part in the great struggle. 

In the northern states the sentiment against slavery 
had grown constantly stronger since the early part of the 
nineteenth century. This difference in attitude between 
North and South had resulted in a breach between the two 
sections. This breach grew steadily wider as the slavery 
question became the one great national issue. 

Conditions were such during the presidential cam- 
paign of 1860, that the entire country realized a crisis was 
approaching. The slavery question was the chief cause 
for the political upheaval in which the country found 
itself, but this political disturbance was great enough 
to absorb pubhc attention and to make people partially 
forget that slavery was at the bottom of it. 

The new Republican party was the direct outgrowth 
of the slavery issue, and the one important feature 
of its campaign platform was opposition to the exten- 
sion of slavery. Abraham Lincoln, a man then prac- 
tically unknown, was the candidate put forward by the 
new party for the Presidency. Lincoln was elected, 
and his election hastened a crisis that would have come 
sooner or later under any conditions. Within a month 

225 



226 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

after his election was announcecl to tlu^ country, South 
CaroHna gave out her determination to secede from 
the Union. Buchanan was still President. He seemed 
unable to face the situation, and afraid to act. Six 
other states, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Ala- 
bama and Florida, followed South Carolina's example, 
and the whole of the South began active preparations for 
war. The entire country was in a turmoil. The South 
was united in its views on the question of secession. In 
the North opinion differed. The President announced in 
a message to Congress that a state had no right to secede, 
but Congress seemed powerless, because the constitution 
did not specifically give it the right to force a seceding 
state back into the Union. 

Oliver Perry Morton. It was while the country was in 
this uncertain state of mind that Indiana's great War Gov- 
ernor, Oliver Perry Morton, made a speech that thrilled 
the North, and probably did as much to determine the 
Northern attitude as any utterance preceding the firing 
of the Confederate guns on Fort Sumter. At the time, 
Morton had not assumed the Governor's chair. He wa^ 
elected as Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with Henry 
S. Lane. Three days after he was inaugurated Governor, 
Lane resigned to become United States senator from Indi- 
ana, and Morton became Governor. This plan had been 
prearranged, dependent, of course, on the success of the 
Republican party in the state election. Morton was dis- 
satisfied with the arrangement, and would have preferred 
to go to the senate. If Morton had gone to the senate, and 
Lane remained Governor, it is hard to tell what might 
have been the outcome. Lane, though an excellent sena- 
tor, is seldom heard of today, while Morton became a great 
national figure, and has come down in history as the great- 
est of the war-time governors. Lincoln found him one of 




I 





STATUE OF MORTON, INDIANAPOLIS 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 229 

the few men with whom he cared to consult, and sent for 
Morton many times during the course of the war. In the 
dark days when internal trouble racked Indiana, he felt 
such implicit trust in Morton that he left in his hands the 
settlement of treasonable plots, that, if successful, would 
have struck to the very heart of the Union. Lincoln and 
Morton were two great men who understood each other 
and worked together in harmony. They had much in 
common, both in character and experience. Had Morton 
been placed in Lincoln's position, he would probably have 
been equally great. He was a man of whom every Indian- 
ian should be proud, for during the Civil War he piloted 
the state through a sea of difficulties such as beset no other 
state loyal to the Union. 

Morton's Speech. Morton's famous speech, which was 
delivered at a meeting held in Indianapolis on November 
22, 1860, was the first clear, public statement of the ques- 
tions confronting the nation since the specter of secession 
had become a grim reality. Morton thought clearly and 
logically, and saw into the future as few men of his time. 
Speaking of secession, he said: ''If an attempt at secession 
be made, there is but one of two courses to be pursued, 
either to allow the seceding state peaceably to go and set 
up for herself an independent government, or else, by the 
police or military power of the United States, to compel an 
observance of the laws, and submission to constitutional 
obligations." Morton then went on to show that if seces- 
sion were permitted ''instead of having a nation — one 
mighty people — we have but a collection and combination 
of thirty-three independent and petty states. . . . 
Secession would become the remedy for every state and 
sectional grievance, real or imaginary, and in a few short 
years we should witness the total dissolution of that mighty 
republic which has been the hope of the world. . . . 



230 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

If South Carolina gets out of the Union, I trust it will be 
at the point of the bayonet, and after our best efforts have 
failed to compel her submission to the laws. Better con- 
cede her independence to force, to revolution, than to right 
and principle." Concerning the possibility of war, he said: 
* 'Seven years is but a day in the life of a nation, and I would 
rather come out of a struggle at the end of that time, 
defeated in arms and conceding independence to success- 
ful revolution, than purchase present peace by the conces- 
sion of a principle that must inevitably explode the nation 
into small and dishonored fragments." He concluded by 
saying: ''I will not stop to argue the right of secession. 
The whole question is summed up in this proposition : 'Are 
we one nation, one people, or thirty-three nations, thirty- 
three independent and petty states?' The statement of 
the proposition furnishes the answer. If we are one nation, 
then no state has a right to secede. Secession can only be 
the result of successful revolution. I answer the question 
for you, and I know that my answer will find a response in 
every true American heart — that we are one people, one 
nation, undivided and indivisible." 

Lincoln at Indianapolis. Lincoln stopped at Indianap- 
olis on his way to the inauguration. The Governor, 
members of the legislature, and a great number of citi- 
zens turned out to welcome the new President. The 
crowd gathered outside the hotel where Lincoln was 
stopping, the Old Bates House, which stood where the 
Claypool Hotel now stands. Morton, Lincoln, and sev- 
eral other prominent men appeared on the balcony, and 
Morton made a brief speech of welcome. He sought to 
draw Lincoln out, for the new President had not spoken 
since his election on his policy and intentions. Lincoln's 
words were few, but they were the most definite he had 
yet spoken. He complimented the people on their loyalty 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 231 

and then told them: '^It is your business to rise up and 
preserve the Union and liberty for yourselves, and not for 
me. I am but an accidental instrument to serve but for a 
limited time, and I appeal to you again to bear constantly 
in mind that with you, and not with politicians, not with 




LINCOLN TABLET ON CLAYPOOL HOTEL, INDIANAPOLIS 



Presidents, not with office seekers, but with you is the 
question, 'Shall the Union, shall the liberties of this country 
be preserved to the latest generation?' " 

Attack on Fort Sumter. On the 12th of April, 1861, 
Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, was attacked by the 



232 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Confederates. The news was received with great excite- 
ment throughout the country, for the attack was the first 
open act of hostiUty, and made war certain. FeeUng ran 
ver}^ high. Everywhere people crowded the streets eager 
for news of the seventy loyal men who were holding the 
fort in the face of the bombardment of southern shells. 
The stars and stripes appeared on public buildings, 
churches, schools and private houses, and the flag had a 
new and more sacred meaning to the crowds who thronged 
the streets than it had ever possessed for them before. 
When the new^s of Sumter's fall was flashed through the 
country, both North and South realized that war was on, 
and that it would be no short or easy struggle. 

Indiana Offers Volunteers. The President called for 
seventy-five thousand volunteers on the 15th. That same 
day, before the call had been issued. Governor Morton 
had offered President Lincoln ten thousand men on behalf 
of the state of Indiana. 

Military Condition of Indiana. Let us stop to consider 
what was the condition of Indiana, in a military way at 
the outbreak of the Civil War. The regular militia, well- 
organized and supplied back in the days of Indian fight- 
ing and the War of 1812, had ceased to exist during the 
long period of peace, and the military spirit seemed to have 
died down. When the war with Mexico was declared in 1846, 
this military spirit revived, and three regiments of Indiana 
volunteers were sent to the front, to be followed later by 
two additional regiments. But the militia system, once so 
important, was dead before the outbreak of the Mexican 
War, and the revival of military spirit at that time was not 
sufficient to reestablish it in its old time strength. In 
1852, an act was passed for the organization of militia 
by congressional districts, but nothing came of it, and 
the opening of the Civil War found the state without 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 233 

military organization, and with a state treasury sadly 
depleted. 

Response to the Call for Volunteers. In spite of these 
unfavorable conditions, large numbers of men responded 
to Governor Morton's call for volunteers. The day fol- 
lowing the call, 500 men arrived in Indianapolis and went 
into camp at the old fair grounds. Within a week, 12,000 
men had enlisted. The secretary of war had fixed Indiana's 
quota at six regiments, comprising 4,683 men. Within a 
week almost three times that number had responded. The 
military spirit so long dormant, was aroused to its full 
force, and every able-bodied man seemed eager to hasten 
to the defense of his country. 

Special Session of the Legislature. Morton knew that 
all these men would be needed. He at once offered the 
Government six additional regiments, without condition as 
to term of service. But to equip these additional regiments, 
money was necessary for the purchase of arms and uni- 
forms. A special session of the legislature was called, and 
convened on the 24th of April. In his message to the 
legislators. Governor Morton said: ''We have passed from 
the field of argument to the solemn fact of war, which 
exists by the act of the seceding states. The issue is forced 
upon us and must be accepted. . . I recommend that 
one million dollars be appropriated for the purchase of 
arms and ammunition, and for the organization of such 
portions of the militia as may be deemed necessary for the 
emergency, that a militia system be devised and enacted, 
looking chiefly to volunteers, which shall insure the great- 
est protection to the state and the greatest unity and effi- 
ciency of the force to be employed. . . . that suitable 
provision be made by the issue of the bonds of the state, 
or otherwise, for raising the money herein recommended 
to be appropriated ; and that all necessary and proper legis- 



234 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

lation be had to protect the business, property and citi- 
zens of the state, in the circumstances under which they 
are placed." The legislature, which in the first year of 
the war was loyal to the Governor and eager to carry out 
his wishes, responded by voting more than twice the 
amount for which he had asked. 

Morton's War Policy. Morton himself was desperately 
in earnest about the war. He was farseeing enough to 
realize how serious it was, and he would have at once 
placed an overwhelming force in active service and made 
the war ''instant and terrible." He organized Camp Mor- 
ton, provided for the recruiting, drill and equipment of 
soldiers, and the securing of the necessary arms and muni- 
tions of war. 

Indianapolis a Military Center. The importance of 
Indianapolis as a military center was due largely to Gov- 
ernor Morton. The camp named in his honor became a 
recruiting place for soldiers from near-by states, as well as 
from our own state, and organized regiments from other 
states were often quartered at Indianapolis before being 
sent to the front. 

The Arsenal at Indianapolis. In the first days of the 
war the Governor put some of the recruits to work mak- 
ing bullets in hand molds, and then had them packed for 
use by the Indiana regiments. Indiana was remote from 
the source of such supplies, so the plan of establishing an 
arsenal, suggested by this small beginning, recommended 
itself to the Government. This arsenal became one of the 
most important in the country, and employed several 
hundred men in the manufacture of arms and ammu- 
nition. 

Greatness of Morton as a War Governor. Governor 
Morton continued to be the great figure in Indiana through- 
out the war. In the early days of the great national 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 235 

upheaval it was Morton who made of Indiana a patriotic 
and mihtary center, and in the later days, as we shall see, 
when internal dissension, disloyalty and even treason 
threatened the very allegiance of the state to the Union, it 
was Morton who brought it through in safety. 



CHAPTER XX 

INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 

PART II 

Response to the Call of 1862. In 1862 the President 
issued a call for three hundred thousand men, and made pro- 
visions for a draft from the militia, if the quotas of the sev- 
eral loyal states were not filled by August 16. The draft 
was a system whereby men were chosen by lot to serve in 
the army. It has never been a popular way of raising 
armies, always creating opposition, and sometimes causing 
riots. Indiana's quota, under the call, was 21,250 men. 
All but 3,003 of the number enlisted, and these were 
drafted from the 334 townships of the state that had not 
supplied their share of volunteers. Indiana was in reality 
8,008 men ahead of the sum of all her quotas since the 
beginning of the war, but the Governor felt it wise to send 
our full share under Lincoln's call, and furthermore felt 
it advisable to draft these men from the townships that 
had not responded properly to the call for volunteers. 

Southern Sympathizers. The question arises, why had 
these townships been backward in supplying men to fight 
for the preservation of the Union? Unfortunately not all 
of the citizens of Indiana were loyal. In certain sections 
there were found those whose sympathies were with the 
Confederate cause, either openly or secretly. A secret 
organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, 
the object of which was to aid the Southern cause, flour- 
ished throughout the half of Indiana south of the National 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 237 

Road. In those townships where the organization was 
strongest, few men enlisted in the Union Army, and efforts 
were constantly being made to persuade those who had 
enlisted to desert. The large number of deserters from 
among Indiana troops, 10,846, may be partially accounted 
for in this manner. 

Reasons for Sympathy with the South. We must not 
judge too harshly these men whose sympathies were with 
the South. It would have been very remarkable if, with 
her population of 1,350,000, many of them Southern born, 
Indiana had not had many citizens whose sympathies were 
with the Confederate cause. Others there were who would 
have let the southern states secede peacefully, and who 
because they did not believe in the war, weakened in their 
allegiance to the Government. The disheartening defeats, 
the ''hard times" into which the war plungedl the country, 
the drafting of men for service, and the heavy taxation 
necessary to carry on the war, all combined to weaken 
the loyalty of those who did not possess the vision to fore- 
see, that without the preservation of the Union the separate 
states would be weak and helpless, and the power of the 
nation completely broken. 

Danger from Disloyal Element. This dissatisfied ele- 
ment, combined with those of southern sympathies, formed 
a larger number than one would ever suppose. They became 
a grave menace to the Union cause, for while the Union 
trembled in the balance, the slightest help to the Confed- 
erate side threatened to destroy it. 

Disloyal Secret Societies. The disloyalty in the state 
found its expression in federated secret societies, which at 
different times were known under the names of the Knights 
of the Golden Circle, the American Knights, and the Sons 
of Liberty. These organizations w^ere far-reaching and 
powerful, and though strongest in the states of the Middle 



238 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

West, were represented throughout most of the North. 
The Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle was organ- 
ized in the South before the war. The original object was 
the establishment of a great empire on the Gulf, based on 
slavery, and in which the Southern States were to be 
united with Mexico. The organization spread into the 
North sometime during the first year of the war, but did 
not begin to gain strength until 1862, and did not attain 
its largest membership until 1864. It was represented, to 
the man asked to join it, as a political club. The candidate 
was first admitted to the ''Outer Temple," which was 
wholly political, and later he was carefully sounded, and 
if he was found to hold the ''right" views, was admitted 
to the "Inner Temple," where the object of aiding the 
South was openly avowed. In addition to the Outer and 
Inner Temples, there were various high degrees and orders. 
The rituals and regalia were elaborate, and the whole thing 
was designed to appeal to simple, credulous minds, and by 
overawing them, bring them to accept the treasonable tenets 
for which the "Knights" really stood. 

Strength of Secret Societies in Indiana. The strength 
of these organizations has been much exaggerated. It is 
true, however, that at one time they presented a real men- 
ace to the Union cause, for the government had enough to 
do subduing the rebellious states, without taking the added 
burden of hunting and punishing those who secretly worked 
as enemies. In Indiana the organization was at times very 
strong. In the years 1863 and 1864, a memberhsip of 
40,000 was claimed. Men of local prominence were often 
enrolled, and members were found even among the state 
officers. 

Object of Secret Societies. The object of the secret 
society, under its various names, remained the same. It 
favored slavery and the right of secession, and opposed the 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR; 239 

war and the measures of Lincoln's administration. Sol- 
diers in the Union Army were encouraged to desert, and 
found shelter in the strongholds of the organization 
after they had deserted. Communication with Southern 
leaders, and aid to the Confederate cause continued until 
the close of the war. Public opinion was influenced through 
disloyal newspapers controlled by members of the organiza- 
tion. The state legislature was at one time made up largely 
of the disloyal element, and sought in every way to dis- 
credit Governor Morton, and undermine the strength of 
the state's aid to the Union cause. 

Plans for Morgan's Raid. Several uprisings were 
planned by the Knights of the Golden Circle, but none of 
them ever took place. Morgan's famous raid into Indiana 
was partly due to the encouragement given by the pres- 
ence of so many southern sympathizers in the state. The 
plan was to raise a large force of the Knights of the Golden 
Circle, perhaps thirty or forty thousand, who were to move 
under Morgan's command on Indianapolis. The seven 
thousand Confederate prisoners confined in Camp Morton 
were to be released and armed, and the whole force was 
to occupy the city, establish a provisional government, and 
either join Indiana to the Southern Confederacy, or, with 
Illinois and other near-by states, form a Northwestern 
Confederacy. Of course the plan failed, but Morgan did 
invade Indiana soil, and his raid caused great excitement, 
not alone in the state, but throughout the North. 

Raid on Newburg. This raid was the first important 
invasion of Indiana by a hostile force during the war. 
Other raids of minor importance had been made. In July, 
1862, a band of guerillas raided Newburg, in Warrick 
County. The leader of the band was Adam R. Johnson, 
who had previously served in the Confederate Army. A 
hospital had been established in the town, and eighty or 



240 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

ninety sick and wounded soldiers were being cared for. 
In the hospital building were stores of food and other sup- 
plies and the muskets and ammunition of the local militia- 
Johnson had for sometime been in communication with the 
disloyal citizens of the town, and had secured their aid. On 
the 18th of July, he crossed the river just at noon, and 
surprised the town. The hospital was seized and the sup- 
plies stored there were secured. The soldiers in the hospital 
were required to sign paroles of honor, but these were 
never claimed as valid by the Confederate authorities, and 
were not held so by those who had signed them. Johnson's 
men then set to work to pillage the town. Houses were 
})roken open and robbed, and everything that could be 
carried across the river Avas taken. After the flight of the 
marauders the indignant citizens attacked and killed two 
of the men who had given Johnson the information that 
had led to the raid, and during his presence in the village 
had helped in the pillaging. 

Hines' Raid. In June, 1863, a small body of men 
belonging to Morgan's command, made a raid through 
Perry, Orange, Crawford, Washington and Harrison 
counties. The force numbered sixty-two men, under the 
command of Captain Thomas H. Hines. At first they met 
with no resistance, for they represented themselves as 
belonging to the Union Army, and acting under proper 
orders from General Boyle, of the district of Kentucky, who 
had sent them out in search of deserters. In this guise 
they secured a number of horses, giving in pay vouchers 
on the federal quartermaster at Indianapolis. Before they 
reached Paoli their disguise had been discovered, and a 
force was ready to receive them. Hines made a detour, but 
encountered another armed force. This latter body of 
men was greatly outnumbered by the Confederates, who 
captured and robbed them. The position of Hines now 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 241 

became so dangerous that he secured a guide and pressed 
toward the Ohio. A force of miUtia pursued him, and on 
Blue River Island, in the Ohio, three miles above Leaven- 
worth, the Confederates were forced to surrender. Hines 
alone escaped, swimming his horse across the river. 

Morgan's Raid. At this time Morgan was in Kentucky 
making a rapid flight through the state, and causing much 
excitement. He left Alexandria, Tennessee, on June 11, 
1863, hoping to draw some of the Union forces in pursuit 
of him and away from Bragg's army. In his flight through 
Kentucky he met with little opposition, and though he had 
not intended to invade Indiana, the ease with which he 
had progressed so far, and the encouragement given him 
by the Knights of the Golden Circle, led him to disobey the 
orders of his superior officer, and push the raid into Indiana. 
His force numbered 2,460 men, quite large enough, he 
thought, to accomplish his purpose. 

He Reaches the Ohio. Morgan arrived at Brandenburg, 
a small town situated on the Kentucky side of the Ohio 
River, about fifty miles below Louisville, on July 8. He 
captured two river steamers to carry his men across to 
the Indiana side, but met with some difficulty when he 
attempted to make the crossing. 

Attempt to Prevent Morgan from Crossing. News of 
Morgan's coming had reached the Indiana side before his 
arrival at Brandenburg. A piece of artillery was brought 
from Leavenworth and stationed directly opposite Bran- 
denburg, on the Indiana side. One hundred of the Harrison 
county militia stood guard to prevent the Confederates 
from crossing. A few shots were exchanged, and then Mor- 
gan's artillery opened an accurate and deadly fire which 
forced the few defenders to retire. 

Morgan's Crossing Interrupted. Morgan at once 
began to transfer his men to the Indiana shore. As soon 



242 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

us enough men had hmdetl tliey pursued tlie niiHtia, who 
fell back in good order toward Corydon. While this retreat 
and pursuit were going on, and directly after the return 
of the two steamers from their first trip to the Indiana side, 
a small boat ''tightly boarded up with tiers of heavy oak 
planking," ran rapidly down the river, and opened fire, 
first on Brandenburg, and then on the force pursuing the 
militia. Morgan's position was made very perilous, for 
his force was divided, and while the gunboat remained he 
could not unite it. But after an hour's firing, the gunboat 
ran back up the river, and Morgan began sending the remain- 
der of his force across in great haste. Later, the gunboat 
returned with two armed transpor ts. Morgan's batteries on 
the heights above Brandenburg opened fire, and though they 
did not damage the boats, the officer in charge of the gun- 
boat soon retired with his little fleet, claiming that the 
boats were bullet but not shell proof. Morgan at once 
crossed over with the remainder of his force, and they 
encamped for the night near the river, pressing on toward 
Corydon early in the morning. 

The Men of Indiana Rise to Defend Their State. Dur- 
ing the raid through Kentucky, Governor Morton had 
sent all available troops out of the state for the defense of 
Louisville, for it was supposed that Morgan would strike 
there before attempting to cross into Indiana. When the 
fact of Morgan's invasion of Indiana soil became known, 
great anxiety was felt by the Governor and the people of 
the state as a whole. We were stripped of national troops, 
and only the county militia, known as the ''Legion," 
remained. For these county organizations the arms were 
insufficient, and the men themselves — usually old men, 
young boys, and others unable to go to war — were poorly 
drilled and ignorant of military discipline. Against sea- 
soned veterans, such as Morgan's men, they could make 






HHHHKg J 


1 






i 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 245 

but little defense. General Boyle, in command of the 
District of Kentucky, ignored Morton's demands for 
regular troops, so, on the 9th, the Governor issued a call 
to the men of Indiana to rise to the defense of their state. 
The Knights of the Golden Circle had planned an uprising 
to come to the aid of Morgan and his raiders. What hap- 
pened was very different. The wave of loyalty that swept 
the state was Uke that at the beginning of the war. Within 
two days 20,000 men had been actually mustered at 
Indianapolis, and Governor Morton had notice of the 
organization and readiness of 45,000 more. What had 
happened was the gathering of 65,000 men in forty-eight 
hours ! 

Morgan at Corydon. We left Morgan aavancing on 
Corydon. The little body of militia and minute men who 
had resisted his landing fell back toward Corydon, and 
during the night constructed such defenses as they could. 
Messages were sent to General Boyle to forward reenforce- 
ments, but none came, and the little band of raw, untrained 
men, now numbering nearly 400, were left to face the 
invaders alone. They were attacked about a mile from 
Corydon by Morgan's force. They repelled this attack 
with courage and bravery, but were so greatly outnum- 
bered that they were finally forced to surrender. Their loss 
was three killed, and several wouned. Morgan's loss was 
eight killed and thirty-three wounded. After this engage- 
ment Morgan pressed on into Corydon, where his men 
swarmed through the town, plundering without check or 
discrimination. Large sums of money, merchandise, and 
all the available horses of the citizens were carried off by 
the invaders. 

He Marches Northward. From Corydon, Morgan 
marched northward toward Palmyra, where he halted for 
a two hours' rest. He then divided his force, the detach- 



240 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

ment on the right making for Greenville, in Floyd County, 
and that on the left for Paoli, in Orange County. 

At Salem. The forces then converged towards Salem, 
in Washington County, where they arrived on the morning 
of the 10th of July. They quickly dispersed the squads of 
undisciplined minute men who sought to prevent them from 
entering the town, and captured a company of the Wash- 
ington County Legion, Avhich arrived after they had 
taken possession. Morgan destroyed the railroad bridge 
at Salem, tore up some of the tracks, and burned the sta- 
tion. His men plundered to their heart's content. Gen- 
eral Duke, who w^as one of Morgan's officers during the 
raid, says of the few hours spent in Salem: ^The disposi- 
tion to wholesale plunder exceeded anything that any of 
us had ever seen before. The great cause for apprehension 
which our situation might have inspired seemed only to 
make the men reckless. Calico was the staple article of 
appropriation. Each man who could get one, tied a bolt 
of it to his saddle, only to throw it away and get a fresh 
one at the first opportunity. They did not pillage with any 
sort of method or reason. It seemed to be mania, senseless 
and purposeless. One man carried a bird cage, with three 
canaries in it two days. . . . Although the weather was 
intensely warm, another, still, slung seven pairs of skates 
around his neck, and chuckled over his acquisition! They 
pillaged like boys robbing an orchard. I would not have 
believed that such a passion could have developed so 
ludicrously among any body of civilized men." 

He Begins His Retreat. From Salem detachments were 
sent out towards Brownstown and Orleans. But Morgan 
found the roads toward the north were too perilous, and so 
left Salem in the afternoon, wdth the apparent single object 
of making for the Ohio, and putting that stream between 
himself and the enemies so rapidly gathering around him. 




OLD CHURCH USED AS HOSPITAL BY MORGAN, CORYDON 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 249 

Hobson in Pursuit. To the South was General Hob- 
son with a force of 4,000 men. He had been following 
Morgan through Kentucky, and had crossed the Ohio at 
Brandenburg, only twenty-four hours after the invader. 
Hobson reached Corydon on the morning of the 10th of 
July, and after a brief halt pushed on toward Salem. 




MAP OF MORGAN'S RAID 



Morgan had meanwhile marched rapidly eastward through 
Canton and New Philadelphia, to Vienna, where he arrived 
at six o'clock in the evening. He passed on to Lexing- 
ton and encamped for the night. 

Morgan's Situation Desperate. On the morning of 
the 11th, Morgan moved out of Lexington towards Ver- 
non. By tapping the telegraph wires and sending out 



250 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

scouts, he had learned that troops were being collected to 
the south to prevent him reaching the Ohio. The roads 
toward Indianapolis were heavily guarded. The Knights 
of the Golden Circle were strangely quiet, and none rose 
to his aid. The situation began to look desperate. 

At Vernon. Morgan came in sight of Vernon on the 
afternoonof the 1 1th. Aforceof 1,000 men was posted there, 
and Morgan did not care to attack it. He ordered Colonel 
Williams, who was in command, to surrender, but that officer 
refused and returned the answer to Morgan that he "was 
abundantly able to hold the place, and if General Morgan 
got it, he must take it by hard fighting." Morgan quietly 
withdrew the main body of his men, and the small num- 
ber remaining made a demonstration which caused a slight 
skirmish. They then followed after the main body of the 
invaders, and the "Siege of Vernon" was ended. 

At Dupont and Versailles. Morgan now proceeded to 
Dupont, eight miles southwest, where he burned two large 
railroad bridges and destroyed several freight cars and a 
large water tank. He moved on in the night to Versailles, 
where he captured three hundred minute and militiamen 
and took $5,000 of the county funds. Had Morgan spent 
the night at Vernon, he would have been attacked, for early 
the next morning Major General Wallace arrived by rail 
with a considerable force. 

Difficulties Confronting Our Forces. As we look at it 
today, it seems strange that Morgan was not captured soon 
after he set foot on Indiana soil. But there were several 
difficulties confronting our state forces that we must take 
into consideration. The first was the lack of correct and 
consistent information. Morgan had small detachments 
thrown out in all directions, and from each village at which 
one of these detachments stopped came the report that Mor- 
gan and his men were sacking the place and terrorizing the 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 251 

inhabitants. As a result, the reports indicated that Morgan 
was in several places — often widely apart — at the same 
time. A second difficulty lay in the impracticability 
of infantry transported by rail successfully pursuing a body 
of cavalry. No one knew where Morgan would turn up 
next, and when he was definitely located and troops rushed 
to the spot, he would be twenty-five miles distant by the 
time the troops arrived. A third difficulty lay in the use 
of raw troops suddenly called into service. They were 
never ready on time, the commissary was badly organized, 
and the whole body lacked the smooth working that char- 
acterizes the movements of veterans. 

From Versailles to the Ohio Line. Morgan left Ver- 
sailles at four o'clock on the afternoon of Sunday, the 12th. 
He passed on to Osgood, where he destroyed two bridges, 
tore up the railroad tacks and did other damage. He then 
followed along the old Ohio and Mississippi railroad, through 
Pierceville to Milan, destroying bridges and other property 
as he went. After marching far into the night, the main 
body reached Sunman's Station, and halted to rest. But 
some 2,500 militia were encamped near by, and Morgan 
prudently retired to a safe distance, where he spent the 
night. He hurried on early in the morning toward the 
Ohio line. He passed through Harmon's Station, Van 
Weddon's Station, and Weisburg, destroying railroad 
bridges and tracks, and doing much damage. Passing on 
through Hubbell's Corner, New Alsace, Dover, and Logan, 
Morgan's advance reached Harrison, Ohio, about noon. 

Pursuit and Surrender. Morgan was pursued into 
Ohio b}' a body of cavalry under Colonel Shuler, who fol- 
lowed him as far as Batavia, Ohio, and then ''finding the 
citizens able and ready to protect themselves, returned 
home." Morgan continued the raid, though his force 
grew constantly less through the capture of stragglers and 



252 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

the desertion of the exhausted men. At last, on the 26th. 
near Salineville, Ohio, Morgan, with only 250 men left, 
was surrounded and forced to surrender. Meanwhile, the 
large number of men who had gathered for the defense of 
Indiana, had been discharged and sent home. Though 
they had not been able to corner the wily invader, they 
had prevented him from accomplishing his end, and their 
response to the call of the Governor remains one of the 
most patriotic events of the Civil War. 



CHAPTER XXI 

INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 

PART III 

Aid to the Soldiers. The Military Agency of the 
Indiana State Sanitary Commission grew out of the need of 
supplying our men at the front with those necessities and 
comforts which the government found it impossible to 
furnish. A great army had been hastily gathered, and 
the federal government was taxed to the utmost to supply 
this army with even the bare necessities. The women of 
the various states came to the relief of the soldiers by sup- 
plying them with many of the things necessary to their 
welfare and comfort. These supplies were collected by 
sanitary commissions and distributed by military agencies. 
In this manner the various states sent blankets, extra 
clothing, hospital supplies, etc., to the regiments at the 
front. 

Appeal to Women of Indiana. Indiana, under the lead- 
ership of her great War Governor, was among the first 
states to take up this work. Governor Morton realized 
during the fall of 1861, that our men at the front must be 
supplied with overcoats and warm underclothing for the 
approaching winter. The overcoats were bought partly 
with state funds, and altogether twenty-nine thousand 
were sent to the Indiana troops. For the other needed 
supphes, the Governor appealed to the women of the state. 
On October 10th, 1861, he issued the following proclama- 
tion : — 

253 



254 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

''To the Patriotic Women of Indiana: 

''When the President issued his first call to the loyal 
states for help, the government was unprovided with most, 
if not all, of the articles necessary to the comfort and health 
of soldiers in the camp and in the field. The women of 
Indiana were appealed to, and they supphed the deficiency 
in our state, with a generous alacrity which entitles them 
to the gratitude of the nation. The approach of winter 
makes it necessary to appeal to them again. Our volun- 
teers, already suffering from exposure, against which they 
are inadequately protected, will soon be compelled to 
endure the utmost severity of winter, and multiplied dan- 
gers of disease. The government is doing all that can be 
done for them, but when all is done, they must still lack 
many comforts which men in ordinary pursuits enjoy, and 
which soldiers need above all others. Many articles of cloth- 
ing, which to men with houses over their heads and warm 
fires always near, are hardly more than a luxury, to men 
with no protection but a tent, no bed but the ground, and 
whose duty must be performed under the unabated rigors 
of winter, are absolute necessities. They may save many 
lives which will surely be lost without them. These, the 
patriotic women of Indiana, it is hoped will supply." The 
Governor then went on to enumerate the articles needed, 
which included blankets, socks, woolen gloves or mittens, 
and woolen shirts and drawers. He closes by suggesting 
that "an hour of each day for a week given to the manufac- 
ture of the articles named will provide an ample store." 

The Response. The response was immediate, and the 
supply of the needed articles which poured into the office 
of the Quartermaster-General of the state was much greater 
than the actual need. 

The General Military Agency. The distribution of 
these supplies suggested the first organization to complete or 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 255 

enlarge the government's provision for its soldiers. Agents 
were sent to the front to see to this work, and to render all 
possible aid to Indiana soldiers in the field, especially those 
who were sick or wounded. But the efforts of these agents 
alone were not sufficient. Early in 1862 the ^'General MiU- 
tary Agency of Indiana' ' was established, with a ''General 
Military Agent/' in the person of Dr. William Hannaman, 
at the head. To him these agents reported the needs of the 
soldiers, the names of the sick, the wounded, and the dead. 
With organization came greater efficiency. Nurses and 
surgeons were sent to the front, discharged soldiers were 
assisted in getting transportation home, letters were writ- 
ten for those in hospitals, and arrangements made for 
sending the dead home for burial. The agents, under flags 
of truce, even penetrated the enemy's lines and looked after 
the welfare of those who had been made prisoners. 

The State Sanitary Commission. The "State Sanitary 
Commission" was organized as a means of procuring the 
supplies needed by the General Military Agency. This 
organization employed agents to go about the state and col- 
lect the supplies that the loyal women had busied themselves 
in making. Auxiliary societies, at which the women met 
to sew, scrape lint, make bandages, etc., were formed. 
With this complete organization, and the Sanitary Com- 
mission and Military Agency working together, great things 
were accomplished for the relief of the soldiers and for their 
comfort and well-being. In addition to the various articles 
contributed, the soliciting agents secured considerable 
donations of money, and the funds thus secured were used 
in various ways to relieve the soldiers. Such needed arti- 
cles as were not donated, were bought, and the remaining 
money was used in transportation for discharged soldiers, 
the relief of destitute soldiers' families, and in such various 
other ways as the Military Commission might see fit. 



256 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Value of State Aid to Soldiers. The total value of goods 
contributed through the Sanitary Commission was $359,- 
000.03. Cash to the amount of $247,570.75 was received. 
The entire contributions to the commission totaled 
$606,570.78. In addition to this, Indiana citizens gave 
$16,049.50 to the United States Sanitary Commission, 
which raises the sum given for the relief of soldiers to $622,- 
620.28. Counties and townships in the state gave $4,566,- 
898.06 for the local relief of soldiers' families, and soldiers 
discharged by reason of wounds or disease. This shows 
an outlay altogether of over five million dollars. We have 
every reason to be proud of the fame achieved by our soldiers 
in the war, but we have as good reason to be proud of the 
liberality and humanity of those who remained at home. 

Situation in Indiana. The situation in Indiana during 
the Civil War was a peculiar one. She was a most loyal 
state, and yet within her borders many disloyal schemes 
were planned by treasonable secret societies. Fortunately 
none of the important plots were successful, but the state 
was kept in a constant turmoil by the continual internal dis- 
sension, caused by the presence of so many Southern sympa- 
thizers. 

Reorganization of the Knights of the Golden Circle. 
In the fall of 1863, the Knights of the Golden Circle were 
reorganized under the name of the ''Order of American 
Knights." This reorganization and change of name were 
brought about by the disasters which had befallen the 
Knights during the summer. The grand jury began an 
investigation of the order in the spring, and from unwilling 
witnesses, managed to extract the most important facts 
concerning it. Immediately following the failure of their 
ambitious plans in connection with Morgan's raid, the 
Knights were dealt a severe blow by the publication of the 
report of this grand jury investigation. Testimony proving 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 257 

the existence of the order — a fact long denied — its secrecy, 
its possession of arms, and its military drills, was made 
public. Even the grips, passwords and signs of the order 
became public property. The leaders saw that a reor- 
ganization must be effected at once or the whole order 
would dissolve. So, with great secrecj^, the Order of 
American Knights came into being. It was patterned 
after the Knights of the Golden Circle, but admission to 
the higher degrees was more difficult to obtain, and the 
oath of secrecy for all members was made more binding. 
With this new organization the leaders hoped that some 
of their ambitious plans might be put into effect. 

Morton Well Informed. Governor Morton knew of 
the organization, and through spies and detectives kept 
himself informed of all the plots of the leaders. The men 
he employed were so skillful in their work that they were 
never suspected, and several of them attained high rank 
in the order. Through them Morton was so completely 
posted that he knew what the leaders were going to 
attempt even before their plans had been communicated 
to the rank and file of the members. 

Morton's Life in Danger. Governor Morton was able, 
through his complete knowledge of their plans, to forestall 
any efforts the Knights might make to put these plans into 
effect. But the fact that he was always able to forestall 
them made his own position a very dangerous one. With 
little thought of self, he went on through the darkest days 
of the war, and the darkest in the history^ of our state, doing 
all he could to pilot the state government through the sea 
of difficulties that beset it. In the annals of the secret 
organizations we find many references to plans for assassi- 
nating Morton, and thus doing away with their one 
great enemy. On one occasion the Governor was fired 
upon when leaving the state house at the Market Street 



258 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

door, but the bullet missed him, and the assassin fled with- 
out making a second attempt. Morton was repeatedly 
notified of plots against his life, and received many letters 
threatening assassination if he did not do certain things. 
To all these he paid little heed, and did not allow the threats 
to influence him in the discharge of his duty. 

A Second Reorganization. In the spring of 1864, further 
exposures made another reorganization of the secret order 
necessary. The name was changed to the ''Sons of Liberty," 
and slight modifications were made in the ritual and signs 
of recognition. The organization now attained its greatest 
membership, for the approaching election made it easy to 
gain members by representing the order to be a political 
club Many of these neophytes knew nothing of the real 
objects and principles for which the order stood. Only such 
as were thought "safe" were made familiar with its inner 
secrets. 

Great Uprising Planned. As the membership grew, 
more ambitious plans were formed by the leaders. The 
chief conspiracy of the entire war was the plan for a mon- 
ster uprising to take place on August 16, 1864. The mem- 
bers of the Sons of Liberty in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, 
Kentucky and Ohio, were to arm themselves, and free and 
arm all the Confederate prisoners within the borders of their 
respective states. All of the forces were to combine with 
a Confederate army under Breckenridge, Buckner and 
Morgan, and occupy Kentucky, which was to be made the 
base of an extensive campaign. The plan was one of the 
last hopes of the Confederacy, and had it succeeded we 
can not say what would have been the result. Certainly 
the war would have been considerably prolonged. But 
in counting on the rank and file of the members of the 
secret order the leaders made a great mistake. The men 
who had joined the order under the impression that it was 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 259 

wholly political, refused to have anything to do with it 
when they found themselves confronted with the frightful 
issues of actual war. So the great plan went to pieces 
for lack of support, and the order itself began to disinte- 
grate. 

The Treason Trials. Following close upon the failure 
of the uprising, came the discovery of large shipments of 
arms and ammunition to the grand commander of the 
order for the state of Indiana. This dignitary was arrested 
the last of August, and the arrest of five leaders fol- 
lowed shortly. The grand commander escaped and made 
his way to Canada, but the other five were tried and 
found guilty of treason, and four of them were sentenced to 
death. All of these men were subsequently pardoned by 
President Johnson. 

Fiat Justitia. In closing the account of the internal 
difficulties which racked Indiana during the war, it is well 
to repeat our former statement, that we must not judge too 
harshly those whose sympathies were with the South. The 
rancor of Civil War days has passed. As we look back 
upon the struggle, we know that each side acted for what 
it thought was best. In Indiana the men who sided with 
the Confederacy met its defeat bravely, and several of the 
most prominent of the members of the secret organizations 
afterward became prominent citizens of the state, and 
served the people well in positions of public trust. 

Indiana in the War. While those at home were engaged 
in the turmoil of domestic strife, Indiana soldiers in the 
field were bravely fighting to uphold the cause of the Union. 
The proportion of soldiers from Indiana was larger than 
that from most of her sister states. 74.1 per cent, of her 
men of military age took part in the War; that is, 74 out of 
every one hundred men between the ages of eighteen and 
forty-five years. This was 6.87 per cent, of the total popu- 



260 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

lation, or nearly seven, out of every one hundred. The 
total number of enlistments was 210,497. Indiana troops 
took part in 308 engagements, in seventeen differ(nit states. 
In many of these engagements they were especially distin- 
guished for their bravery, and are commended in the 
official records. 

Indiana Soldiers. Among individual Indiana soldiers 
we find several illustrious names. General Ambrose E. 
Burnside was a native of Union County, Indiana, though 
he enhsted from Rhode Island. In November, 1862, he 
was appointed the successor of McClellan in command of 
the Army of the Potomac. He was reluctant in accepting 
this important post, for he knew the task before him to be 
one requiring superhuman powers. The people and the 
government were clamoring for action, so Burnside made 
his campaign against Richmond in answer to this demand. 
The events of this disastrous campaign, culminating in the 
battle of Fredericksburg, are well known. Within a month 
afterward, Burnside gave up his command of the Army of 
the Potomac and fell back to a subordinate position, where 
he rendered the Union cause valuable service. General 
Lew Wallace, better known for his literary work than his 
military service, was nevertheless a brave soldier. At one 
time attempts were made to detract from General Wal- 
lace's military honor, because of his late arrival on the 
first day of the battle of Shiloh. He was fully cleared of 
all these charges, for the circumstances were shown to be 
beyond his control. Among other Indiana soldiers who 
distinguished themselves were. Brigadier General Benjamin 
Harrison, later President of the United States; Major 
General Alvin P. Hovey, later Governor of Indiana; Major 
General Walter Q. Gresham; and Brigadier General Pleas- 
ant A. Hackleman, who lost his life in the service, in Octo- 
ber, 1862. Among non-commissioned officers and privates 



INDIANA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 261 

many acts of exceptional courage and bravery have been 
recorded. 

Our Debt to Morton. To one man Indiana owes her 
greatest war-time debt, and among the many men of the 
state whom the war brought to the front, he stands out as 
the great figure. This man was the Governor — Oliver 
Perry Morton. 



CHAPTER XXII 
MATERIAL GROWTH 

The People. When Indiana became a state the esti- 
mated population was 70,000. By the census of 1910 the 
population was more than 2,700,000. Although Indiana 
is the thirty-seventh state in point of area, in population it 
is ninth. The growth in population has been steady. The 
early settlers came from the older eastern and southern 
states. Many Germans came either by way of Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio, or directly from the Fatherland. Their 
descendants have become fused into the general mass. The 
same is true of all other nationalities, with the exception 
of very recent arrivals. The strength and solidarity of 
the state is due in a large measure to the common language 
and common interests of the people. 

Roads. In the early days it was very difficult to get 
from one settlement to another. Products had but little 
value, because they could not be carried to market without 
great expense. The need of good roads early attracted the 
attention of the people. The earliest roads followed the 
old Indian trails. In some cases these trails, broadened 
and slightly improved, served as roads for many years. 
Modern engineers have not been able to find much 
better routes than the Indians had marked out centuries 
ago. In the early days of the state, many public roads 
were planned and a few built at the expense of the state. 
Under certain laws private corporations were allowed to 
build toll roads. These roads were kept up by the fees 
collected from those who used them. Such roads were 

262 



MATERIAL GROWTH 265 

never very popular with the settlers. Nearly all of them 
have now been bought by the people and made free. The 
state is well provided with good road material. In many 
parts of the state there are splendid beds of gravel. In 
nearly all of the counties good material is found in the 
stone with which nature has so bountifully furnished 
the state. Rapid development in the building of good 
roads has taken place in recent years. Indiana is now one 
of the first states in the Union in the number of miles of 
well built highways. 

Railroads. The state is well supplied with steam rail- 
roads. The first railroad built in the state has already 
been noted. It connected Madison with Indianapolis. 
From that simple beginning there has been expansion, 
until today nearly every village, town and city is either on 
or within easy distance of a railroad. There are almost 8,000 
miles of steam railroad in the state. Many of the trans- 
continental lines cross the state from east to west. There 
are also a number of railroads traversing the state from 
north to south. Only two counties, Ohio and Switzer- 
land, are without railroads. 

Electric Lines. In the matter of interurban electric 
railways, Indiana occupies an important place. The build- 
ing of electric roads early attracted the attention of the 
financiers of the state. At present there are more than 
1,500 miles of electric lines. Indianapolis is a great inter- 
urban center, lines radiating from it in every direction. 
These electric lines have done much to promote travel, 
improve trade, and develop the resources of the rural com- 
munities. 

Forests. Originally Indiana was one of the most heavily 
wooded states in the whole country. Great forests of oak, 
walnut, poplar, hickory, maple, beech and ash Avere found 
in many parts of the state, particularly in the central and 



266 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

southern parts. The prairie land was almost wholly in the 
northern part. In the preparation of the land for agricul- 
ture, many of these forests were cut down and most of 
the timber burned. The early mills cut only the very 
choicest logs. At the present time considerable attention 
is being given to the subject of forestry. Since less than 
fifteen per cent, of the original timber supply of the state 
remains, it is important that the present forests be properly 
cared for, and that large areas be reforested. The state 
board of forestry is engaged in a campaign of education and 
demonstration that will surely bring about needed changes. 

Coal. The coal fields of Indiana are very extensive. 
Twelve counties are engaged in mining on a commercial 
scale. The yield at present amounts to more than 18,000,- 
000 tons per year. The mines pay out in wages more than 
$15,500,000 annually. The fields are so extensive that 
the coal industry will continue to be an important factor 
in the development of the state for many years to come. 
Good laws and state supervision reduce the number of 
mine accidents and provide for the safety of the miners. 

Building Stone. In some parts of Indiana, particularly 
in Monroe and Lawrence counties, great beds of fine build- 
ing stone are found. Many quarries are in operation in 
these districts. Building stone of finest quality is quarried 
and shipped to various parts of the country. Numbers of 
fine public buildings all over the United States are built 
from Indiana limestone. It is a business which employs a 
great many men and which promises to grow and develop 
from year to year. 

Gas and Oil. Natural gas and oil are two products 
which have added very greatly to the wealth of the state. 
When natural gas was discovered in the central-eastern 
part of the state, many manufacturing establishments were 
attracted by the cheap fuel, A period of great prosperity 



iMATERIAL GROWTH 



267 



ensued. Several cities doubled their population in a few 
years. Although gas has ceased to be found in suffi- 
cient quantities for large commercial purposes, many of the 
factories which were attracted to Indiana by the gas, have 
substituted other fuel, and remain great assets to the state. 
Indiana still produces a great deal of oil. Much of the 
original gas territory was found later to be oil territory, as 




AN INDIANA STONE QUARRY:] 



well. It is believed by those who have made a study of 
the subject, that considerable undeveloped oil territory 
still exists in the state. A new field has been discovered 
recently in the neighborhood of Oakland City. 

Soil and Products. But of all her natural resources, the 
rich soil of the state is the greatest asset. This soil is 
adapted to the growing of various kinds of agricultural 
products. Under the lead of Purdue University and the 



268 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

Purdue Experiment Station, farming has become a real 
science. The main agricultural products are corn, wheat, 
oats, hay and potatoes. The state ranks fourth in the 
amount of wheat grown, fifth in the amount of corn, sixth 
in the amount of oats, eighth in the amount of hay, and 
ninth in the amount of potatoes. The value of the products 
amounts to many millions of dollars. Farm property has 
increased rapidly in value, until now Indiana stands third 
in the average value per acre of all farm property. 

Domestic Animals. The growing of domestic animals 
for the market has long been an industry of value and 
importance. Hogs, cattle, mules, horses and sheep are 
raised in large numbers. The rapid development of 
western cities has increased the demand for meat. The 
consequent increase in price has interested many farmers 
in the live-stock industry. 

Manufacturing. Although Indiana is usually thought 
of as an agricultural state, its manufacturing industries 
are of very great importance. It is ninth in the value of 
its manufacturing output. These products consist mainly 
of wagons, carriages, plows, farm machiner}^, steel products, 
pianos and various sorts of hardware. It is indeed a great 
change from the crude homemade articles of the early 
nineteenth century, to the highly finished and almost per- 
fect products of the early twentieth century factories. The 
Indiana factory worker is intelligent, educated and skilled. 
The value that his labor adds to an article on its way 
through the factory is greater than occurs in most other 
states. But little of the available water power of the state 
is yet developed. When this is fully utilized many new 
enterprises will ])e attracted. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
INDIANA POLITICALLY 

Presidential Elections. Since Indiana became a state 
twenty-three presidential elections have occurred. In 
eleven, Indiana gave a majority vote to the Democratic 
party, in two to the Whig party, and in ten to the Repub- 
lican party. In nineteen of these elections Indiana gave her 
majority for the successful candidate. She failed to do 
this in 1824, when she gave her vote to Andrew Jackson 
instead of John Q. Adams, in 1836, when she voted for 
William H. Harrison instead of Martin Van Buren, in 1848, 
when she voted for Lewis Cass instead of Zachary Taylor, 
and in 1876, when she voted for Samuel J. Tilden instead 
of Rutherford B. Hayes. Indiana frequently changes her 
politics, as shown by the majority vote, but she usually 
votes with the party that wins. Although regarded as 
''doubtful," the judgment of the voters in picking a winner 
seems to be almost certain. 

President Harrison. In 1888 Benjamin Harrison, who 
had represented the state in the United States Senate 
from 1881 to 1887, was elected President of the United 
States. His opponent on the Democratic ticket was 
Grover Cleveland, who was seeking reelection. President 
Harrison was a grandson of William Henry Harrison, the 
first Governor of Indiana Territory, and President of the 
United States for one month in 1841. He was a lawyer of 
fine ability, and a political speaker of persuasive power. 
His honesty and statesmanlike qualities made him a presi- 
dent who ])r()ught honor to the Hoosier State. 

269 



270 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

National Candidates. Indiana has often been repre- 
sented upon the National ticket by one of her sons as a 
candidate for vicepresident. Three of these candidates 
have been successful: Schuyler Colfax in 1863, Thomas 
A. Hendricks in 1884, and Charles W. Fairbanks in 1904 
Hendricks and Fairbanks had both been United States 
Senators, and the former had been Governor from 1873 to 
1877, being the first Democratic Governor elected in a 
northern state after the War. 

Cabinet Officers. The state has been well represented 
in the cabinets of various presidents. Caleb B. Smith 
served two years as Secretary of the Interior under Lincoln. 
Upon his resignation to become a United States circuit 
judge, John P. Usher was appointed as his successor, and 
served continuously until the close of Andrew Johnson's 
term. In the administrations of Lincoln, Johnson, and 
Arthur, Hugh McCullough was Secretary of the Treasury. 
The state has had two Postmaster Generals, James N. 
Tyner, under Grant, and Walter Q. Gresham, under Arthur; 
two Secretaries of State, John W. Foster, under Harrison, 
and Walter Q. Gresham, under Cleveland; one Sec- 
retary of the Navy, Richard W. Thompson, under Hayes; 
and one Attorney General, W. H. H. Miller, under Har- 
rison. 

In Congress. In the national Congress Indiana has 
always stood high. Even before she became a state, 
Jonathan Jennings, her territorial delegate, attracted the 
attention of the nation by the wisdom and power with 
which he presented the claims of the new territory. The 
congressional delegations have been made up of able men, 
many of whom have served as chairmen of important com- 
mittees. Three Indiana men have been Speakers. In the 
twenty-ninth Congress, John W. Davis was Speaker in the 
thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, and fortieth Congresses, Schuyler 




THOMAS A. HENDRICKS MONUMENT, INDIANAPOLIS 



INDIANA POLITICALLY 273 

Colfax was Speaker, and in tlie forty-fourtli Congress, 
Michael C. Kerr was Speaker. The latter died in office. 

Indiana in the Senate. In the United States Senate 
Indiana has always been ably represented. Quite a num- 
ber of the Senators have served more than one term. 
This policy, which has also been observed in a number 
of congressional districts, has helped to give the state 
high standing in national affairs. Long service gives an 
acquaintance and an insight which the able man may use 
to the advantage of his state. The mere mention of the 
names of Senators Whitcomb, Lane^ Turpie, Hendricks, 
Morton, McDonald, Voorhees and Harrison, shows that 
the state has nothing to lose by comparison with other 
states. The great Congressional Library building is a 
permanent monument to the untiring efforts of Senator 
Voorhees. 

National Politics. In the direct management of the 
great political parties Indiana has had a large part. The 
closeness of the vote of the state has made politics 
interesting to a great number of her people. Almost every 
school boy is a debater and speaker upon political subjects. 
The old saying, ''Scratch a Hoosier and find a politician," 
is almost true. The absence of large centers of population 
and the general intelligence of all the people, have united 
to develop political leaders who win by an open appeal 
to reason. The political boss, as he is found in some 
states has not been developed. The tj^pes of leader w^hich 
the hard fights of Indiana political campaigns have pro- 
duced, have been of great use in national campaigns. A 
number of the direct managers, and also many of the 
best orators in recent presidential campaigns have come 
from Indiana. 

Governors. Indiana has been a fighting ground for the 
two great political parties. In state politics the victory 



274 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

has often depended upon the power and personal popularity 
of the candidate for Governor. This fact has caused both 
parties to put forward their very best men as candidates 
for this high office. Such men as Whitcomb, Wright, Lane, 
Morton, Hendricks, WilUams, Gray, Hovey, Matthews 
and Mount, were strong politicians, but they made excel- 
lent Governors. The Indiana politician generally develops 
statesmanlike qualities when he comes into a position of 
responsibility. Without exception, the Governors have 
felt their duty to the whole people and have worked for 
the good of all, and not merely for the good of party. 

Local Politics. The individual citizen comes into close 
contact with the government of his city, town or township. 
These local governments have to do with the direct spend- 
ing of his taxes, with the building of roads, streets and side- 
walks, with his water supply, and, with the relief of his 
unfortunate neighbor. It seems absurd that political 
belief should be the deciding factor in the selection of offi- 
cers to administer local affairs. Such, however, is the case. 
It generally happens that party law is stronger than the 
desire to elect a really competent man. In recent years 
many communities have partially or entirely eliminated 
politics in local affairs. The indications are that this ten- 
dency will continue, and that ultimately the voter will dis- 
regard politics except in state and national affairs. 




SCHUYLER COLFAX MONUMENT, INDIANAPOLIS 



CHAPTER XXIV 
THE HOOSIER IN LITERATURE 

Hoosier. The reason why the term ^'Hoosier" is applied 
to natives of Indiana is not known. The date at which the 
appUcation was first used is also shrouded in myster^^ As 
early as 1833, John Finley wrote a poem for the Indianapolis 
Journal under the title ''The Hoosier's Nest." The word 
occurs several times in the poem. At this time its use must 
have been somewhat common, although perhaps this poem 
was the first literary production in which the term occurred. 

Probable Origin of the Term. Governor Wright 
believed that the word Hoosier was a corruption of "Who's 
here?" This question was asked by the native when a 
knock was heard upon his door. In the dialect of the fron- 
tier the question took the form of ''Who's yere?" from 
which the word Hoosier may have been derived. It has 
also been suggested that the word may have originated 
from a peculiar pronunciation of Hussar, which was taken 
up by some of the natives with the idea of self-glorifica- 
tion. Still another theory of the origin is, that in the earher 
days the heroes of the log-rollings and house-raisings were 
called "hushers," because of their prowess, and that this 
word was finally corrupted into Hoosier. 

An Honorable Name. Whatever may have been the 
origin of the term, it has come to be more widely used than 
any other nickname, unless it be that of Yankee. In the 
earher history of the state it was a term of reproach and 
ridicule applied to the inhabitants of the state, and carried 
with it the notion that they were "])ack-woodsmen." The 

277 



278 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

odium of the earlier use has passed, and it has now come 
to be a badge of honor. Every native of the state is glad 
to be called a Hoosier. 

Quality of Early Settlers. The early settlers of Indiana 
came in the main from the South and East. There was a 
sprinkling of the poor whites from the South who settled 
in the hilly regions of the state. These people more than 
any others are responsible for the so-called Hoosier dialect. 
The majority of the settlers, however, were intelligent, cul- 
tured people, representing the very best of the rural civili- 
zation of the regions from which they came. Additions 
were made by immigration from Scotland, Ireland and 
Germany. These foreign immigrants came with the deter- 
mination to make Indiana their home. They rapidly 
fused with other settlers and contributed no little to ^ the 
general intelligence and culture of the new state. 

Reasons for Literary Activity. Outside of the state there 
has been much surprise at the literary activity of the 
Hoosiers. When, however, it is recahed that Indiana was 
settled by a hardy, intelligent class of people with all the 
courage of the pioneer, that she early dedicated herself to 
education both elementary and higher, and that the public 
library has been found in every township for more than 
half a century, it will be seen that the state has furnished 
a demand for literature and the means of meeting that 
demand. 

Incorrect Ideas About Indiana Culture. From a literary 
and cultural viewpoint, Indiana has suffered away from 
home, because of the writings of some of her most distin- 
guished sons. ''The Hoosier Schoolmaster," in which 
Edward Eggleston portrays a certain phase of rural life, 
has done much to make outsiders believe that the average 
Hoosier is of the type of Bud M'eans. James Whitcomb 
Riley's dialect poems have led many others to think that 



MChio. 
\ L 



86° 



:. Mich, y^..-, , r'-T-T. r H— I 

Michigan cjtjro-^_XT,„7A"Sd'r^. J b;:;;;;^.;:^ - Jbhn)!"— 



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-La'porte© ./ Ie 

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■ N CKSJ^E \ ®Ai 

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■^Warsaw f 

KOSci~tisKoJ Columbia' City 
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^'j'' Greenwich 



COUNTY MAP OF INDIANA 



THE HOOSIER IN LITERATURE 281 

no native Hoosier speaks good English. As a matter of 
fact, the English used in Indiana compares favorably with 
that used in other parts of the nation. As Meredith Nich- 
olson says: "It may be fairly questioned whether, properly 
speaking, there ever existed a Hoosier dialect. A book of 
colloquial terms could hardly be compiled for Indiana with- 
out infringing upon prior claims of other and older states, 
and the peculiarities that were carried westward from tide- 
water early in the century. The distinctive Indiana coun- 
tryman, the real Hoosier, who has been little in contact 
with the people of cities, speaks a good deal as his Pennsyl- 
vania, or North Carolina, or Kentucky grandparents did 
before him, and has created nothing new. His speech con- 
tains comparatively few wordsthat are peculiar to the state." 

Edward Eggleston. Edward Eggleston was born at 
Vevay. He came from good Virginia stock, and had many 
advantages in his early life which gave him a trend toward 
literature. As he states, he was ''born into an intelligent 
atmosphere." In his early life he was not strong enough to 
attend school. He was, however, a very close student at 
home. It is said that by the time he was twenty-five 
years of age he had considerable knowledge of six or seven 
languages, and was very familiar with English and French 
literature. He is the author of ''The Hoosier School- 
master," "The End of the World," "Roxy,"and "The Circuit 
Rider," besides numerous other stories for young people. 

James Whitcomb Riley. James Whitcomb Riley is a 
poet whose fame is secure. Wherever the English lan- 
guage is read, and so long as it continues to be alive, 
Mr. Riley will be known and honored. He is, indeed, a 
poet of the people. He understands and interprets the 
simple everyday life to common folks. As Senator 
Beveridge says: "That is why the people love him. That 
is why we love James Whitcomb Riley. He has under- 



282 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

stood us — understood us because he is of us; and, under- 
standing us, has told us of ourselves, of our ideal selves, 
and therefore of our truly real selves. For only that is 
real in the soul of man which, to the mind of the man, is 
ideal." It would be a mistake to suppose that Mr. Riley 
is great only in interpreting the simple types of rural life. 
He is great in whatever field he enters. He is truly and 
wholly an American. Whether he writes in the field of 
the comic, the sentimental or the pathetic, he is wholly 
irresistible — he turns the commonest things into pure 
gold. As an interpreter of child life he is without a peer. 
Lew Wallace. General Lew Wallace was born at 
Brookville, in Franklin County, but spent most of his life 
at Crawfordsville. In his youth he had three ambitions: 
to make pictures, to write books, and to be a soldier. As 
a boy he painted a picture of Blackhawk, an Indian chief, 
completed a novel, and when the Mexican War broke out, 
organized a company and entered the army. Although 
he saw but little of the war, his experience gave him the 
basis of a novel. At the opening of the Civil War he at 
once became a conspicuous figure. He won fame in many 
engagements, and was promoted to the rank of Major Gen- 
eral. His first important book was "The Fair God," a tale 
of Mexico at the time of the invasion of Cortez. His great- 
est novel is Ben Hur, a tale of the Christ. This latter book 
has had a wonderful sale. It has been translated into many 
foreign languages. It has also been dramatized and has 
had a successful career in that form. General Wallace 
represented our country as Minister to Turkey during 
Garfield's administration. The President asked him to 
use his leisure while on this mission to produce a new story. 
The result was 'The Prince of India." He has written a 
number of other stories, but will always be best known as 
the author of Ben Hur. 



THE HOOSIER IN LITERATURE 283 

Maurice Thompson. Maurice Thompson was born at 
Fairfield, near Brookville. He spent his boyhood and early 
manhood in the South, where he served as a soldier in the 
Confederate Army during the Civil War. He finally 
became a lawyer, settled at Crawfordsville, and spent the 
latter part of his life in that city. His first fame as an author 
came from a series of magazine articles on "Archery and 
Shooting with the Long Bow." These essays were gath- 
ered together under the title of 'The Witchery of Archery." 
In 1883 a volume of poems bearing the title of ''Songs of 
Fair Weather" appeared. He is the author of a number of 
novels, among which may be mentioned "A Tallahassee 
Girl," ''At Love's Extremes/' and a "Fortnight of Folly." 
His best known novel is "AHce of Old Vincennes," which 
brought him great fame and made his name a household 
word. 

Distinguished Novelists. In the last decade a number 
of Indiana authors have been so very successful that it 
may be truthfully said, that the Uterary center of the coun- 
try, as well as the population center, is now in Indiana. 
Among the more noted of recent novelists may be men- 
tioned David Graham Phillips, author of "The Plum Tree;" 
Meredith Nicholson, author of "The House of a Thousand 
Candles;" George Ade, author of "Fables in Slang;" George 
Barr McCutcheon, author of "Beverly of Graustark;" 
Charles Major, author of "When Knighthood Was in 
Flower;" Gene Stratton Porter, author of "Freckles;" 
EUzabeth Miller, author of "The Yoke;" Booth Tarking- 
ton, author of "Monsieur Beaucaire;" and Wilbur Nesbit, 
author of "A Gentleman Ragman." These writers have 
each produced many other stories. 

Juvenile Literature. Annie Fellows Johnston, in "The 
Little Colonel Series," has won the love of young people 
everywhere. Perhaps no juvenile stories have been more 



284 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

popular or successful. George Gary Eggleston has written 
some capital boys' stories, the best being ''The Last of the 
Flatboats." Riley's Poems of Ghildhood delight every 
child fortunate enough to hear or read them. 

Poetry. In poetry, besides Riley, we may mention 
Sarah T. Bolton, author of ''Indiana," and "Paddle Your 
Own Ganoe;" Benjamin S. Parker, author of "The Gabin 
in the Glearing;" and Lee O. Harris, the teacher of Mr. 
Riley, and the author of "Interludes." 

Miscellaneous Writings. In history, biography and 
essay, Indiana writers have merited favorable mention. In 
this list are included: George W. Julian, author of "Speeches 
on Political Subjects;" and a "Life of Joshua R. Giddings;" 
William Dudley Foulke, author of "Slav and Saxon,'* and 
the "Life of Oliver P. Morton; John B. Dillon the first 
important historian of the state; Jacob P. Dunn, the 
author of "Indiana, A Redemption from Slavery;" Albert 
J. Beveridge, author of "The Russian Advance;" John W. 
Foster, author of "Twenty Years of Diplomacy;" Hugh 
McGulloch, author of "Men and Measures of Half a Gen- 
tury;" and Golonel Richard Thompson, author of "Recol- 
lections of Sixteen Presidents." 

The Outlook. That Indiana has done well in the past 
is history, that she is doing her part nobly now is common 
knowledge, and that she will do greater things in the future 
is the hope of all her children. Her schools are better than 
ever before, and are improving daily. Wealth and leisure 
have come, and with them the opportunity for larger cul- 
ture. She is in the path of the great routes of travel from 
east to west, and from north to south. Her position brings 
her in touch with all the nation. If her citizens continue to 
improve these opportunities there is no dream of future 
greatness that may not be fully realized. 



APPENDIX 



I. GOVERNORS i 

( 

NORTHWEST TERRITORY ] 

i 
Arthur St. Clair 1787-1800 1 

INDIANA TERRITORY I 

William Henry Harrison 1800-1812 ^ 

Thomas Posey 1812-1816 ' 



INDIANA 

Jonathan Jennings : 1816-1822 

Ratliffe Boone 1822 

William Hendricks 1822-1825 j 

James B. Ray 1825-1831 

Noah Noble 1831-1837 - 

David Wallace 1837-1840 

Samuel Bigger 1840-1843 ; 

James Whitcomb 1843-1848 ■ 

Paris C. Dunning (Acting) 1848-1849 ' 

Joseph A. Wright 1849-1857 \ 

ASHBEL P. WiLLARD 1857-1860 i 

Abram a. Hammond 1860-1861 j 

Henry S. Lane 1861 

Oliver P. Morton 1861-1867 

Conrad Baker 1867-1872 « 

Thomas A. Hendricks 1873-1877 | 

James D. Williams 1877-1880 j 

Isaac P. Gray (Acting) 1880-1881 i 

Albert G. Porter 1881-1885 --\ 

Isaac P. Gray 1885-1889 ' 

Alvin p. Hovey 1889-1891 ' 

Ira J. Chase (Acting) 1891-1893 ' 

Claude Matthews 1893-1897 \ 

James A. Mount 1897-1901 I 

W. T. Durbin 1901-1905 | 

J. Frank Hanley 1905-1909 ^ 

Thomas R. Marshall 1909 ] 

2S5 j 

1 



286 THE STORY OF INDIANA 

II. UNITED STATES SENATORS 

INDIANA 

James Noble 1816-1831 

Waller Taylor 1816-1825 

William Hendricks 1825-1837 

Robert Hanna (Appointed) 1831 

John Tipton 1831-1839 

Oliver H. Smith 1837-1843 

Albert S. White 1839-1845 

Edward A. Hannegan 1843-1849 

Jesse D. Bright 1845-1861 

James Whitcomb 1849-1852 

Charles W. Cathcart (Appointed) 1852-1853 

John Petit 1853-1857 

Graham N. Fitch 1857-1861 

Joseph A. Wright (Appointed) 1861-1863 

Henry S. Lane 1861-1867 

David Turpie .1863 

Thomas A. Hendricks 1863-1869 

Oliver P. Morton 1867-1877 

Daniel D. Pratt 1869-1875 

Joseph E. McDonald 1875-1881 

Daniel W. Voorhees 1877-1897 

Benjamin Harrison 1881-1887 

David Turpie 1887-1899 

Charles W. Fairbanks 1897-1905 

Albert J. Beveridge 1899-1911 

James Heminway) 1905-1909 

B. F. Shively 1909 

John W. Kern 1911 



III. INDIANA COUNTIES 



COUNTY 


ORGANIZED 


COUNTY SEAT 


FOR WHOM NAMED 


Adams 


Feb. 7, 1835 


Decatur 


John Adams 


Allen 


Dec. 17, 1823 


Ft. Wayne 


Col. John Allen 


Bartholomew 


Jan. 8, 1811 


Columbus 


Gen. Bartholomew 


Benton 


Feb. 18, 1840 


Fowler 


Thomas H. Benton 


Blackford 


Feb. 15, 1838 


Hartford City 


Judge Blackford 


Boone 


Jan. 29, 1830 


Lebanon 


Ratliffe Boone 


Brown 


Feb. 4, 1830 


Nashville 


Gen. Jacob Brown 


Carroll 


Jan. 7, 1828 


Delphi 




Cass 


Dec. 18, 1828 


Logansport 


Lewis Cass 


Clark 


1802 


Jeffersonville 


Gen. Geo. R. Clark 


Clay 


Feb. 12, 1825 


Brazil 


Henry Clay 


Clinton 


Jan. 29, 1830 


Frankfort 


DeWitt Clinton 


Crawford 


Jan. 29, 1818 


Leavenworth 


Col. Wm. Crawford 


Daviess 


Dec. 24, 1816 


Washington 


Col. Daviess 


Dearborn 


1805 


Lawrenceburg 


Col. Henry Dearborn 


Decatur 


Dec. 21, 1821 


Greensburg 


Com. Decatur 


DeKalb 


Feb. 7, 1835 


Auburn 


General DeKalb 


Delaware 


Jan. 22, 1820 


Muncie 


An Indian Tribe 


Dubois 


Dec. 20, 1817 


Jasper 


Toussant Dubois 


Elkhart 


Jan. 29, 1830 


Goshen 


* See Footnote 


Fayette 


Dec. 28, 1818 


Connersvillo 


LaFayette 


Floyd 


Jan. 2, 1819 


New Albany 


David Floyd 


Fountain 


Dec. 30, 1825 


Covington 


Major Fountain 


Franklin 


Nov. 27, 1810 


Brookville 


Benjamin Frankhn 


Fulton 


Feb. 7, 1835 


Rochester 


Robert Fulton 


Gibson 


Mar. 9, 1813 


Princeton 


Gen. John Gibson 


Grant 


Feb. 10, 1831 


Marion 


Capt. Samuel Grant 


Greene 


Jan. 5, 1821 


Bloomfield 


General Greene 


Hamilton 


Jan. 8, 1823 


Noblesville 


Alexander Hamilton 


Hancock 


Jan. 26, 1827 


Greenfield 


John Hancock 


Harrison 


Oct. 11, 1808 


Corydon 


Gen. W^. H. Harrison 


Hendricks 


Dec. 20, 1823 


Danville 


Gen. Wm. Hendricks 


Henry 


Dec. 31, 1821 


New Castle 


Patrick Henry 


Howard 


Dec. 28, 1846 


Kokomo 


Gen. T. A. Howard 


Huntington 


Feb. 2, 1832 


Huntington 


Samuel Huntington 


Jackson 


Dec. 18, 1815 


Brownstown 


Andrew Jackson 


Jasper 


Feb. 7, 1835 


Rensselaer 


Sergeant Jasper 


Jay 


Feb. 7, 1835 


Portland 


John Jay 


Jefferson 


Nov. 23, 1810 


Madison 


Thomas Jefferson 


Jennings 


Dec. 27, 1816 


Vernon 


Jonathan Jennings 


Johnson 


Dec. 31, 1822 


Franklin 


G. W. Johnson 


Knox 


Jan. 14, 1790 


Vincennes 


Gen. Henry Knox 


Kosciusko 


Feb. 7, 1835 


Warsaw 


A Polish soldier 


LaGrange 


Feb. 2, 1832 


LaGrange 


Home of LaFayette 


Lake 


Jan. 28, 1836 


Crown Point 


Lake Michigan 


Laporte 


Jan. 9, 1832 


Laporte 


**See Footnote 



*From an island in the river which had a fancied resemblance 
to an elk's heart. 

** The name is French and means portal or entrance. It was 
applied to the village which was at the edge of the great forest, or at 
the opening of the prairie land. 

287 



288 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



NDIANA COVNTIES— Continued. 



COUNTY 


ORGANIZED 


COUNTY SEAT 


FOR WHOM NAMED 


Lawrence 


Jan. 7 


, 1818 


Bedford 


Capt. Lawrence 


Madison 


Jan. 4 


, 1823 


Anderson 


James Madison 


Marion 


Dec. 31 


, 1821 


Indianapolis 


Gen. Francis Marion 


Marshall 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Plymouth 


Ch'f Justice Mashal 


Martin 


Jan. 17 


1820 


Shoals 


Major Martin 


Miami 


Feb. 2 


1832 


Peru 


An Indian tribe 


Monroe 


Jan. 14 


1818 


Bloomington 


James Monroe 


Montgomery 


Dec. 21 


1822 


Crawfordsville 


Gen. Montgomery 


Morgan 


Dec. 31 


1821 


Martinsville 


General Morgan 


Newton 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Kentland 


Sir Isaac Newton 


Noble 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Albion 


Noah Noble 


Ohio 


Jan. 4 


1844 


Rising Sun 


Ohio River 


Orange 


Dec. 26 


1815 


PaoH 


A county in N. Car. 


Owen 


Dec. 21 


1818 


Spencer 


Col. Abram Owen 


Parke 


Jan. 9 


1821 


Rockville 


Benjamin Parke 


Perry 


Sept. 7 


1814 


Cannelton 


Commodore Perry 


Pike 


Dec. 21 


1816 


Petersburg 


Gen. Z. M. Pike 


Porter 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Valparaiso 


Commodore Porter 


Posey 


Sept. 7 


1814 


Mt. Vernon 


Thomas Posey 


Pulaski 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Winamac 


A Polish soldier 


Putnam 


Dec. 31 


1821 


Greencastle 


General Puntam 


Randolph 


Jan. 10 


1818 


Winchester 


A county in N. Car. 


Ripley 


Dec. 27 


1816 


Versailles 


Gen. Z. W. Ripley 


Rush 


Dec. 31 


1821 


Rushville 


Dr. Benjamin Rush 


Scott 


Jan. 12 


1820 


Lexington 


Gen. Charles Scott 


Shelby 


Dec. 31 


1821 


Shelbyville 


Isaac Shelby 


Spencer 


Jan. 10 


1818 


Rockport 


Capt. Spencer 


Starke 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Knox 


General Starke 


Steuben 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Angola 


Baron Steuben 


St. Joseph 


Feb. 29 


1830 


South Bend 


St. Joseph River 


Sullivan 


Dec. 30 


1816 


Sullivan 


Gen. SulHvan 


Switzerland 


Sept. 7 


1814 


Vevay 


Switzerland 


Tippecanoe 


Jan. 20 


1826 


LaFayette 


Tippecanoe River 


Tipton 


Jan. 15 


1844 


Tipton 


Gen. John Tipton 


Union 


Jan. 5 


1821 


Liberty 


*See Footnote 


Vanderburgh 


Jan. 7 


1818 


Evansville 


Judge Vanderburgh 


VermilUon 


Jan. 2 


1824 


Newport 


t See Footnote 


Vigo 


Jan. 21 


1818 


Terre Haute 


Francis Vigo 


Wabash 


Jan. 22 


1835 


Wabash 


Wabash River 


Warren 


Jan. 19 


1827 


WilHamsport 


Gen. Jos. Warren 


Warrick 


Mar. 9 


1813 


Boonville 


Capt. Warrick 


Washington 


Dec. 21 


1813 


Salem 


Geo. Washington 


Wayne 


Nov. 27 


1810 


Richmond 


General Wayne 


Wells 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Bluffton 


Capt. Wm. Wells 


White 


Feb. 1 


1834 


Monticello 


Col. White 


Whitley 


Feb. 7 


1835 


Columbia City 


Col. W. Whitley 



*From the hope that its organization would harmonize the 
quarrel that existed over the county seats of Wayne and Fayette 
Counties. 

jLiteral translation of the Miami Indian word ''pe-auk-e-shaw," 
applied to the Big and Little Vermilion Rivers, because of the red earth 
or ''keel" found along their banks. 



IV. CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

AS AMENDED 

PREAMBLE 

To the end, that justice be estabhshed, pubHc order maintained, and 

hberty perpetuated; We, the people of the State of Indiana, 

grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to 

choose our own form of government, do ordain this Constitution. 

ARTICLE I 

BILL OF RIGHTS 

Section 1. We declare, that all men are created equal; that they 
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that 
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that all 
power is inherent in the people; and that all free governments are, and 
of right ought to be, founded on their authority, and instituted for 
their peace, safety, and well being. For the advancement of these 
ends, the people have, at all times, an indefeasible right to alter and 
reform their government. 

Sec. 2. All men shall be secured in their natural right to worship 
Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. 

Sec. 3. No law shall, in any case whatever, control the free exer- 
cise and enjoyment of rehgious opinions, or interfere with the rights of 
conscience. 

Sec. 4. No preference shall be given, by law% to any creed, relig- 
ious society, or mode of worship; and no man shall be compelled to 
attend, erect, or support, anj^ place of worship, or to maintain anj' 
ministry, against his consent. 

Sec. 5. No religious test shall be required, as a qualification for 
any office of trust or profit. 

Sec. 6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the bene- 
fit of any religious or theological institution. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be rendered incompetent as a witness, in 
consequence of his opinions on matters of religion. 

Sec. 8. The mode of administering an oath or affirmation shall be 
such as may be most consistent with, and binding upon, the conscience 
of the person to whom such oath or affirmation may be administered. 

289 



290 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

8ec. 9. No law shall be passed restraining the free interchange of 
thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print, 
fro(>ly, on any subject whatever; but for the abuse of that right, every 
person shall be responsible. 

Sec. 10. In all prosecutions for libel, the truth of the matters 
alleged to be libelous may be given in justification. 

Sec. 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, 
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search or seizure, 
shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing 
the place to be searched and the person or thing to be seized. 

Sec. 12. All courts shall be open; and every man for injury done 
him in his person, property, or reputation, shall have remedy by due 
course of law. Justice shall be administered freely, and without pur- 
chase; completely and without denial; speedily and without delay. 

Sec. 13. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the 
right to a public trial, by an impartial jury, in the county in which 
the offense shall have been committed; to be heard by himself and 
counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against 
him, and to have a copy thereof; to meet the witnesses' face to face, 
and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. 

Sec. 14. No person shall be put in jeopardy twice for the same 
offense. No person, in any criminal prosecution, shall be compelled 
to testify against himself. 

Sec. 15. No person arrested, or confined in jail, shall be treated 
with unnecessary rigor. 

Sec. 16. Excessive bail shall not be required. Excessive fines 
shall not be imposed. Cruel and unusual punishment shall not be 
inflicted. All penalties shall be proportioned to the nature of the 
offense. 

Sec. 17. Offenses, other than murder and treason, shall be bail- 
able by sufficient sureties. Murder and treason shall not be bailable, 
w^hen the proof is evident or the presumption strong. 

Sec. 18. The penal code shall be founded on the principles of 
reformation, and not of vindictive justice. 

Sec. 19. In all criminal cases whatever, the jury shall have the 
right to determine the law and the facts. 

Sec. 20. In all civil cases, the right of trial by jury shall remain 
inviolate. 

Sec. 21. No man's particular services shall be demanded without 
just compensation. No man's property shall be taken by law without 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 291 

just compensation; nor, except in case of the State, without such con- 
pensation first assessed and tendered. 

Sec. 22. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary com- 
forts of life, shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting a rea- 
sonable amount of property from seizure or sale for the payment of any 
debt or liability hereafter contracted; and there shall be no imprison- 
ment for debt, except in case of fraud. 

Sec. 23. The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or 
class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, 
shall not equally belong to all citizens. 

Sec. 24. No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
contract, shall be passed. 

Sec. 25. No law shall be passed, the taking effect of which shall 
be made to depend upon any authority, except as provided in this 
Constitution. 

Sec. 26. The operation of the laws shall never be suspended, 
except by the authority of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 27. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus bhall not be 
suspended, except in case of rebellion or invasion; and then, only if 
the public safety demand it. 

Sec. 28. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying 
war against it, and in giving aid and comfort to its enemies. 

Sec. 29. No person shall be convicted of treason, except on the 
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or upon his con- 
fession in open court. 

Sec. 30. No conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeit- 
ure of estate. 

Sec. 31. No law shall restrain any of the inhabitants of the State 
from assembling together in a peaceable manner to consult for their 
common good; nor from instructing their representatives; nor from 
applying to the General Assembly for redress of grievances. 

Sec, 32. The people shall have a right to bear arms for the 
defense of themselves and the State. 

Sec. 33. The military shall be kept in strict subordination to the 
civil power. 

Sec. 34. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
house without the consent of the owner; nor, in time of war, but in a 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 35. The General Assembly shall not grant any title of 
nobility nor confer hereditary distinctions. 

Sec. 36. Emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. 



292 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

Sec. 37, There shall be neither shivery nor iuvohiniary servitude 
within the State, otherwise than for the punishment of crime, whereof 
the party shall have been duly ronvieted. No indenture of any Negro 
or Mulatto, made and executed out of the bounds of the State, shall 
be valid within the State. 

ARTICLE II 

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS 

Section 1. All elections shall be free and equal. 

Sec. 2. In all elections, not otherwise provided for by this Con- 
stitution, every male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty- 
one years and upwards, who shall have resided in the State during the 
six months, and in the township sixty days, and in the ward or precinct 
thirty days immediately preceding such election; and every male of 
foreign birth, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who shall 
have resided in the United States one year, and shall have resided in 
this State during the six months, and in the township sixty days, and 
in the ward or precinct thirty days, immediately preceding such elec- 
tion, and shall have declared his intention to become a citizen of the 
United States, conformably to the laws of the United States on the 
subject of naturalization, shall be entitled to vote in the tonwship or 
precinct where he may reside, if he shall have been duly registered 
according to law. (As amended March 24, 1881.) 

Sec. 3. No soldier, seaman, or marine, in the army or navy of the 
United States, or of their allies, shall be deemed to have acquired a 
residence in the State in consequence of having been stationed within 
the same; nor shall any such soldier, seaman, or marine have the right 
to vote. 

Sec. 4. No person shall be deemed to have lost his residence in the 
State, by reason of his absence, either on business of the State or of 
the United States. 

Sec. 5. [Stricken out by constitutional amendment of March 14, 
1881.] 

Sec. 6. Every person shall be disqualified from holding office, 
during the term for which he may have been elected, who shall have 
given or offered a bribe, threat, or reward, to secure his election. 

Sec. 7. Every person who shall give or accept a challenge to fipht a 
duel, or who shall knowingly carry to another person such chall«-nge, 
or who shall agree to go out of the State to fight a duel, shall be ineli- 
gible to any office of trust or profit. 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 293 

Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall have power to deprive of the 
right of suffrage, and to render ineligible any person convicted of an 
infamous crime. 

Sec. 9. No person holding a lucrative office or appointment under 
the United States or under this State, shall be eHgible to a seat in the 
General Assembly; nor shall any person hold more than one lucrative 
office at the same time, except as in this Constitution expressly per- 
mitted; Provided, That offices in the mihtia, to which there is attached 
no annual salary, and the office of deputy postmaster, where the com- 
pensation does not exceed ninety dollars per annum, shall not be 
deemed lucrative; And provided, also, That counties containing less 
than one thousand polls may confer the office of Clerk, Recorder, and 
Auditor, or any two of said offices, upon the same person. 

Sec. 10. No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of 
pubfic moneys, shall be eligible to any office of trust or profit until he 
shall have accounted for, and paid over, according to law, all sums for 
which he may be Hable. 

Sec. 11. In all cases in which it is provided that an office shall not 
be filled by the same person more than a certain number of years con- 
tinuously, an appointment pro tempore shall not be reckoned a part 
of that term. 

Sec. 12. In all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the 
peace, electors shall be free from arrest, in going to elections, during 
their attendance there, and in returning from the same. 

Sec. 13. All elections by the People shall be by ballot; and all elec- 
tions by the General Assembly, or by either branch thereof, shall be 
viva voce. 

Sec. 14. All general elections shall be held on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November; but township elections may be 
held at such time as may be provided by law: Provided, That the Gen- 
eral Assembly may provide by law for the election of all judges of 
courts of general and appellate jurisdiction, by an election to be held 
for such officers only, at which time no other officer shall be voted for; 
and shall also provide for the registration of all persons entitled to 
vote. (As amended March 14, 1881.) 

ARTICLE III 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS 

Section 1. The powers of the Government are divided into three 
separate departments: the Legislative, the Executive (including the 



294 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA^ 

Administrative), and the Judicial; And no person, charged with official 
duties under one of these departments, shall exercise any of the func- 
tions of another except as in this Constitution expressly provided. 

ARTICLE IV 

LEGISLATIVE 

Section 1. The Legislative authority of the State shall be vested 
in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. The style of every law shall be, "Be it enacted by 
the General Assembly of the State of Indiana;" and no law shall be 
enacted except by bill. 

Sec. 2. The Senate shall not exceed fifty, nor the House of Rep- 
resentatives one hundred members ; and they shall be chosen by the 
electors of the respective counties or districts into which the State 
may, from time to time, be divided. 

Sec. 3. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years, and 
Representatives for the term of two years, from the day next after 
their general election: Provided, however, That the Senators elect, at 
the second meeting of the General Assembly under this Constitution, 
shall be divided, by lot, into two equal classes, as nearly as may be; 
and the seats of Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expi- 
ration of two years, and of those of the second class at the expiration of 
four years; so that one-half, as nearly as possible, shall be chosen 
biennially forever thereafter. And in case of increase in the number 
of Senators, they shall be so annexed by lot, to one or the other of the 
two classes, as to keep them as nearly equal as practicable. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall, at its second session after the 
adoption of this Constitution, and every six years thereafter, cause 
an enumeration to be made of all the male inhabitants over the age 
of twenty-one years. (As amended March 14, 1881.) ' 

Sec. 5. The number of Senators and Representatives shall, at 
the session next following each period of making such enumeration, 
be fixed by law, and apportioned among the several counties accord- 
ing to the number of male inhabitants, above twenty-one years of age, 
in each: Provided, That the first and second elections of members of 
the General Assembly, under this Constitution, shall be according 
to the apportionment last made by the General Assembly before the 
adoption of this Constitution. (As amended March 14, 1881.) 

Sec. 6. A Senatorial or Representative district, where more than 
one county shall constitute a district, shall be composed of contiguous 



CONSTITIPTION OF INDIANA 295 

counties; and no county, for Senatorial apportionment, shall ever be 
divided. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be a Senator or a Representaive who, at 
the time of his election, is not a citizen of the United States; nor any 
one who has not been, for two years next preceding his election, an 
inhabitant of this State, and for one year next preceding his election, 
an inhabitant of the county or district whence he may be chosen. 
Senators shall be at least twenty-five, and Representatives at least 
twenty-one years of age. 

ft^«l Sec. 8. Senators and Representatives, in all cases except treason, 
felony, and breach of the peace, shall be pivileged from arrest, during 
the session of the General Assembly, and in going to and returning 
from the same; and shall not be subject to any civil process, during 
the session of the General Assembly, nor during the fifteen days next 
before the commencement thereof. For any speech or debate in either 
House, a member shall not be questioned in any other place. 

Sec. 9. The sessions of the General Assembly shall be held bien- 
nially at the capital of the State, commencing on the Thursday next 
after the first Monday of January, in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and fifty-three, and on the same day of every second year 
thereafter, unless a different day or place shall have been appointed 
by law. But if, in the opinion of the Governor, the public welfare 
shall require it, he may, at any time by proclamation, call a special 
session. 

Sec. 10. Each House, when assembled, shall choose its own offi- 
cers, the President of the Senate excepted; judge the elections, quali- 
fications, and returns of its own members; determine its rules of pro- 
ceeding, and sit upon its own adjournment. But neither House shall, 
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, 
nor to any place other than that in which it may be sitting. 

Sec. 11. Two-thirds of each House shall constitute a quorum to 
do business; but a smaller number may meet, adjourn from day to day, 
and compel the attendance of absent members. A quorum being in 
attendance, if either House fail to effect an organization within the 
first five days thereafter, the members of the House so failing, shall 
be entitled to no compensation from the end of the said five days, until 
an organization shall have been effected. 

Sec. 12. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
publish the same. The yeas and nays, on any question, shall, at the 
request of any two members, be entered, together with the names of 
the members demanding the same, on the journal: Provided, That, on 



296 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

motion to adjourn, it shall require one-tenth of the members present 
to order the yeas and nays. 

Sec. 13. The doors of each house, and of committees of the whole, 
shall be kept open, except in such cases, as, in the opinion of either 
House, may require secrecy. 

Sec. 14. Either House may punish its members for disorderly 
behavior, and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a mem- 
ber; but not a second time for the same cause. 

Sec. 15. Either House, during its session, may punish, by impris- 
onment, any person not a member, who shall have been guilty of dis- 
respect to the House, by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its 
presence; but such imprisonment shall not, at any time, exceed twenty- 
four hours. 

Sec. 16. Each House shall have all powers, necessary for a branch 
of the legislative department of a free and independent State. 

Sec. 17. Bills may originate in either House, but may be amended 
or rejected in the other, except that bills for raising revenue shall origi- 
nate in the House of Representatives. 

Sec. 18. Every bill shall be read, by sections, on three several 
days, in each House; unless, in case of emergency, two-thirds of the 
House where such bill may be pending shall, by a vote of yeas and 
nays, deem it expedient to dispense with this rule; but the reading of 
a bill by sections, on its final passage, shall in no case be dispensed 
with; and the vote on the passage of every bill or joint resolution shall 
be taken by yeas and nays. i 

Sec. 19. Every act shall embrace but one subject and matters 
properly connected therewith; which subject shall be expressed in the 
title. But if any subject shall be embraced in an act, which shall not 
be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much 
thereof as shall not be expressed in the title. 

Sec. 20. Every act and joint resolution shall be plainly worded, 
avoiding, as far as practicable, the use of technical terms. 

Sec. 21. No act shall ever be revised or amended by mere refer- 
ence to its title; but the act revised, or section amended, shall be set 
forth and pubhshed at full length. 

Sec. 22. The General Assembly shall not pass local or special laws 
in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say: 

Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of Justices of the Peace and 
of Constables; 

For the punishment of crimes and misdemeanors: 

Regulating the practice in courts df justice; 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 297 

Providing for changing the venue in civil and criminal cases; 

Granting divorces; 

Changing the names of persons; 

For laying out, opening, and working on, highways, and for the 
election or appointment of supervisors; 

Vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys, and pubhc squares; 

Summoning and impanneHng grand and petit juries, and provid- 
ing for their compensation; 

Regulating county and township business; 

Regulating the election of county and township officers, and 
their compensation; 

For the assessment and collection of taxes for State, county, 
township, or road purposes; 

Providing for supporting common schools, and for the preserva- 
tion of school funds; 

In relation to fees or salaries; except that the laws may be so 
made as to grade the compensation of officers in proportion to the 
population and the necessary services required. (As amended March 
14, 1881.) 

In relation to interest on money; 

Providing for opening and conducting elections of State, count}-, 
or township officers, and designating the places of voting; 

Providing for the sale of real estate belonging to minors, or other 
persons laboring under legal disabilities, by executors, administrators, 
guardians, or trustees. 

Sec. 23. In all the cases enumerated in the preceding section, and 
in all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, 
all laws shall be general and of uniform operation throughout the 
State. 

Sec. 24. Provision may be made, by general law, for bringing 
suit against the State, as to all Habilities originating after the adop- 
tion of this Constitution; but no special act authorizing such suit to 
be brought, or making compensation to any person claiming dam- 
ages against the State, shall ever be passed. 

Sec. 25. A majority of all the members elected to each House, 
shall be necessary to pass every bill or joint resolution; and all bills 
and joint resolutions so passed shall be signed by the Presiding Officers 
of the respective Houses. 

Sec. 26. Any member of either House shall have the right to 
protest, and to have his protest, with his reasons for dissent, entered 
on the journal. 



298 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

Sec. 27. Every statute shall be a public law, unless otherwise 
declared in the statute itself. 

Sec. 28. No act shall take effect until the same shall have been 
published and circulated, in the several counties of this State by 
authority, except in case of emergency; which emergency shall be 
declared in the preamble or in the body of the law. 

Sec. 29. The members of the General Assembly shall receive for 
their services a compensation to be fixed by law; but no increase of 
compensation shall take effect during the session at which such increase 
may be made. No session of the General Assembly, except the first 
under this Constitution, shall extend beyond the term of sixty-one 
days, nor any special session beyond the term of forty days. 

Sec. 30. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for 
which he may have been elected, be eligible to any office the election 
of which is vested in the General Assembly; nor shall he be appointed 
to any civil office of profit, which shall Have been created, or the emolu- 
ments of which shall have been increased, during such term; but this 
latter provision shall not be construed to apply to any office elective 
by the People. 

ARTICLE V 

EXECUTIVE 

Section 1. The executive powers of the State shall be vested in a 
Governor. He shall hold his office during four years, and shall not be 
eligible more than four years, in any period of eight years. 

Sec. 2. There shall be a Lieutenant-Governor, who shall hold his 
office duing four years. 

Sec. 3. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected 
at the times and places of choosing members of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 4. In voting for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor the elec- 
tors shall designate for whom they vote as Governor, and for whom as 
Lieutenant-Governor. The returns of every election for Governor 
and Lieutenant-Governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the 
seat of government, directed to the Speaker of the House of Represen- 
tatives, who shall open and pubHsh them in the presence of both 
Houses of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 5. The persons respectively, having the highest number of 
votes for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected; but in 
case two or more persons shall have an equal and the highest number 
of votes for either office, the General Assembly shall, by joint vote, 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 299 

forthwith proceed to elect one of the said persons Governor or Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, as the case may be. 

Sec. 6. Contested elections for Governor or Lieutenant-Governor 
shall be determined by the General Assembly, in such manner as may 
be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 7. No person r^hall be eligible to the office of Governor or 
Lieutenant-Governor, who shall not have been five years a citizen of 
the United States, and also a resident of the State of Indiana during 
the five years next preceding his election; nor shall any person be 
eligible to either of the said offices who shall not have attained the 
age of thirty years. 

Sec. 8. No member of Congress, or person holding any office 
under the United States or under this State, shall fill the office of Gov- 
ernor or Lieutenant-Governor. 

Sec. 9. The official term of the Governor and Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor shall commence on the second Monday of January, in the year 
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three; and on the same day 
every four years thereafter. 

Sec. 10. In case of the removal of the Governor from office, or 
of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the duties of the 
office, the same shall devolve on the Lieutenant-Governor; and the 
General Assembly shall, by law, provide for the case of removal from 
office, death, resignation, or inabihty, both of the Governor and Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, declaring what officer shall then act as Governor; 
and such officer shall act accordingly until the disability be removed, 
or a Governor be elected. 

Sec. 11. Whenever the Lieutenant-Governor shall act as Gov- 
ernor, or shall be unable to attend as President of the Senate, the Sen- 
ate shall elect one of its own members as President for the occasion. 

Sec. 12. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the mil- 
itary and naval forces, and may call out such forces to execute the 
laws or to suppress insurrection, or to repel invasion. 

Sec. 13. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly 
information touching the condition of the State, and recommend such 
measures as he shall judge to be expedient. 

Sec. 14. Every bill which shall have passed the General Assem- 
bly, shall be presented to the Governor; if he approves, he shall sign 
it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in 
which it shall have originated; which House shall enter the objections, 
at large, upon its journals and proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after 
such reconsideration, a majority of all the members elected to that 



300 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the Governor's 
objections, to the other House, by which it shall hkewise be recon- 
sidered; and, if approved by a majority of all the members elected to 
that House, it shall be a law. If any bill shall not be returned by the 
Governor within three days, Sunday excepted, after it shall have been 
presented to him, it shall be a law without his signature, unless the 
general adjournment shall prevent its return, in which case it shall be 
a law, unless the Governor, within five days next after such adjourn- 
ment, shall file such bill, with his objections thereto, in the office of the 
Secretary of State, who shall lay the same before the General Assembly 
at its next session, in like manner as if it had been returned by the 
Governor. But no bill shall be presented to the Governor within two 
days next previous to the final ajdournment of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 15. The Governor shall transact all necessary business with 
the officers of Government, and may require information in writing 
from the officers of the administrative department upon any subject 
relating to the duties of their respective offices. 

Sec. 16. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 

Sec. 17. He shall have the power to grant reprieves, commuta- 
tions, and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses except treason and 
cases of impeachment, subject to such regulations as may be provided 
by law. Upon conviction for treason, he shall have power to suspend 
the execution of the sentence until the case shall be reported to the 
General Assembly, at its next meeting; when the General Assembly 
shall either grant a pardon, commute the sentence, direct the execu- 
tion of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall have power 
to remit fines and forfeitures, under such regulations as may be pre- 
scribed by law; and shall report to the General Assembly, at its next 
meeting, each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted, and 
also the names of all persons in whose favor remission of fines and for- 
feitures shall have been made, and the several amounts remitted: Pro- 
vided, however. That the General Assembly may, by law, constitute 
a council, to be composed of officers of State, without whose advice 
and consent the Governor shall not have power to grant pardons, in 
any case, except such as may, by law, be left to his sole power. 

Sec. 18. When, during a recess of the General Assembly, a 
vacancy shall happen in any office, the appointment to which is vested 
in the General Assembly; or when, at any time, a vacany shall have 
occurred in any other State office, or in the office of Judge of any 
court; the Governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment, which 
shall expire when a successor shall have been elected and qualified. 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 301 

Sec. 19. He shall issue writs of election to Mil such vacancies as 
ma>' have ocurred in the General Assembly. 

Sec. 20. Should the seat of Government Ixm-oiuc^ (htngerous from 
disease or a common enemy, he may convcMie tlie General Assembly 
at any other place. 

Sec, 21. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, 
be President of the Senate; have a right, when in Committee of the 
Whole, to join in debate, and to vote on all subjects; and whenever 
the Senate shall be equally divided, he shall give the casting vote. 

Sec. 22. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his 
services a compensation which shall neither be increased nor dimin- 
ished during the term for which he shall have been elected. 

Sec. 23. The Lieutenant-Governor, while he shall act as Presi- 
dent of the Senate, shall receive for his services the same compensa- 
tion as the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and any person 
acting as Governor shall receive the (;omi)ensation attached to the 
office of Governor. 

Sec. 24. Neither the Governor nor Lieutenant-Governor shall be 
eligible to any other office, during the term for which he shall have 
been elected. 

ARTICLE VI 

administrative] 

Section 1. There shall be elected by the voters of the State, a 
Secretary, an Auditor, and a Treasurer of State, who shall severally, 
hold their offices for two years. They shall perform such duties as 
may be enjoined by law; and no person shall be eligible to either of 
said offices more than four years in any period of six years. 

Sec. 2. There shall be elected, in each county by the voters 
thereof, at the time of holding general elections, a Clerk of the Circuit 
Court, Auditor, Recorder, Treasurer, SherifT, Coroner, and Surveyor. 
The Clerk, Auditor, and Recorder, shall continue in office four years, 
and no person shall be eligible to the office of Clerk, Recorder, or 
Auditor more than eight years in any period of twelve years. The 
Treasurer, Sheriff, Coroner, and Surveyor, shall continue in office two 
years; and no person shall be eligible to the office of Treasurer or 
S fieri fT more than four years in any period of six years. 

Sec. 3. Such other county and township officers as may be 
necessary shall be elected, or appointed, in such manner as may be 
prescribed by law. 



302 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

Sec. 4. No person shall be elected, or appointed, as a county 
officer who shall not be an elector of the county; nor any one who 
shall not have been an inhabitant thereof, during one year next pre- 
ceding his appointment, if the county shall have been so long organ- 
ized; but if the county shall not have been so long organized, then 
within the limits of the county or counties out of which the same shall 
have been taken. 

Sec. 5. The Governor, and the Secretary, Auditor, and Treas- 
urer of State, shall, severally, reside and keep the pubhc records, books 
and papers, in any manner relating to the respective offices, at the 
seat of government. 

Sec. 6. All county, township, and town officers, shall reside within 
their respective counties, townships, and towns; and shall keep their 
respective offices at such places therein, and perform such duties as 
may be directed by law. 

Sec. 7. All State officers shall, for crime, incapacity, or neghgence, 
be liable to be removed from office, either by impeachment by the 
House of Representatives, to be tried by the senate, or by a joint reso- 
lution of the General Assembly; two-thirds of the members elected to 
each branch voting, in either case, therefor. 

Sec. 8. All State, county, township, and town officers may be 
impeached or removed from office, in such manner as may be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Sec. 9. Vacancies in county, township, and town offices, shall be 
filled in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly may confer upon the Boards 
doing county business in the several counties, powers of a local 
administrative character. 

ARTICLE VII 

JUDICIAL 

Section 1. The Judicial power of the State shall be vested in a 
Supreme Court, in Cicruit Courts and in such other courts as the 
General Assembly may estabhsh. (As amended March 14, 1881.) 

Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of not less than three, 
nor more than five Judges, a majority of whom shall form a quorum; 
they shall hold their offices for six years, if they so long behave well. 

Sec. 3. The State shall be divided into as many districts as there 
are Judges of the Supreme Court; and such districts shall be formed 
of contiugous territory, as nearly equal in population as, without 
dividing a county, the same can be made. One of said Judges shall 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 303 

be elected from each district, and reside therein; but said Judges shall 
be elected by the electors of the State at large. 

Sec. 4. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction, ro-oxtonsivc 
with the hmits of the State, in appeals and writs of error, under such 
regulations and restrictions as may be prescribed by law. It shall also 
have such original jurisdiction as the General Assembly may confer, 
t Sec. 5. The Supreme Court shall, upon the decision of every case, 
give a statement in writing of each question arising in the record of 
such case, and the decision of the Court thereon. 

Sec. 6. TheGeneral Assembly shall provide, by law, for the speedy 
publication of the decisions of the Supreme Court, made under this 
Constitution; but no Judge shall be allowed to report such decisions. 

Sec. 7. There shall be elected by the voters of the State, a Clerk 
of the Supreme Court, who shall hold his office four years, and whose 
duties shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 8. The Circuit Courts shall each consist of one Judge, and 
shall have such civil and criminal jurisdiction as may be prescribed 
by law. 

Sec. 9. The State shall, from time to time, be divided into Judi- 
cial Circuits; and a Judge for each Circuit shall be elected by the 
voters thereof. He shall reside within the Circuit, and shall hold his 
office for the term of six years, if he so long behave well. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly may provide, by law, that the 
Judge of one Circuit may hold the Courts of another Circuit, in cases 
of necessity or convenience; and, in case of temporary inability of any 
Judge, from sickness or other cause, to hold the Courts in his Circuit, 
provision may be made, by law, for holding such Courts. 

h Sec. 11. There shall be elected, in each Judicial Circuit, by the 
voters thereof, a Prosecuting Attorney, who shall hold his office for 
two years. 

Sec. 12. Any Judge or Prosecuting Attorney, who shall have been 
convicted of corruption or other high crime, maj', on information in 
the name of the State, be removed from office by the Supreme Court, 
or in such other manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 13. The Judges of the Supreme Court and Circuit Courts 
shall, at stated times, receive a compensation, which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. 

Sec. 14. A competent number of Justices of the Peace shall be 
elected by the voters in each township in the several counties. They 
shall continue in office four years, and their powers and duties shall be 
prescribed by law. 



304 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

Sec. 15. All judicial oflicors vshall he conservators of the jieace in 
their respective jurisdictions. 

Sec. 16. No person elected to any judicial ofhce shall, durinjj; the 
term for which he shall have been elected, he eligible to an.y ofhce of 
trust or profit under the State, other than a judicial ofhce. 

Sec. 17. The General Assembly may modify or abolish the Grand 
Jury system. 

Sec. 18. All criminal prosecutions shall be carried on in the name, 
and by the authority, of the State; and the style of all process shall be 
''The State of Indiana." 

Sec. 19. Tribunals of conciUation may be estabhshed, with such 
powers and duties as shall be prescribed by law; or the powers and 
duties of the same may be conferred upon other Courts of justice; but 
such tribunals or other Courts, when sitting as such, shall have no 
power to render judgment to be obligatory on the parties, unless they 
voluntarily submit their matters of difference, and agree to abide the 
judgment of such tribunal or court. 

Sec. 20. The General Assembly, at its first session after the adop- 
tion of this Constitution, shall provide for the appointment of three 
Commis.ioners, whose duty it shall be to revise, gimplify, and abridge 
the rules, practice, pleadings, and forms, of the courts of justice. And 
they shall provide for abolishing the distinct forms of action at law, 
now in use; and that justice shall be administered in a uniform mode 
of pleading, without distinction between law and equity. And the 
General Assembly, may also, make it the duty of said Commission- 
ers to reduce into a systematic code the general statute law of the State ; 
and said Commissioners shall report the result of their labors to the 
General Assembly, with such recommendations and suggestions, as 
to abridgment and amendment, as to said Commissioners may seem 
necessary or proper. Provisions shall be made by law, for filhng vacan- 
cies, regulating the tenure of office, and the compensation of said Com- 
missioners. 

Sec. 21. Every person of good moral character, being a voter, 
shall be entitled to admission to practice law in all courts of justice. 

ARTICLE VIII 

EDUCATION 

Section 1. Knowledge and learning, generally diffused through- 
out a community, being essential to the preservation of a free govern- 
ment, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 305 

suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural imi)rove- 
ment; and to i)rovide by law, for a general and uniform system of 
Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally 
open to all. 

Sec. 2. The Common School fund shall consist of the Congres- 
sional Township fund, and the lands belonging thereto; 

The surplus revenue fund; 

The saline fund and the lands belonging thereto; 

The Bank Tax fund, and the fund arising from the one 
hundred and fourteenth section of the charter of the State Bank of 
Indiana; 

The fund to be derived from the sale of County seminaries, and 
the moneys and property heretofore held for such seminaries; from 
the fines assessed for breaches of the penal laws of the State; and from 
all forfeitures which may accrue; 

All lands and other estate which shall escheat to the State, for 
want of heirs or kindred entitled to the inheritance; 

All lands that have been or may hereafter be, granted to the 
State, where no special purpose is expressed in the grant, and the pro- 
ceeds of the sales thereof, including the proceeds of the sales of the 
Swamp Lands, granted to the State of Indiana by the act of Congress 
of the 28th of September, 1850, after deducting the expense of select- 
ing and draining the same; 

Taxes on the property of corporations, that may be assessed by 
the General Assembly for Common School purposes. 

Sec. 3. The principal of the Common School fund shall remain 
a perpetual fund, which may be increased, but shall never be dimin- 
ished; and the income thereof shall be inviolably appropriated 
to the support of Common Schools, and to no other purpose 
whatever. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall invest in some safe and prof- 
itable manner all such portions of the Common School fund, as have 
not heretofore been intrusted to the several counties; and shall make 
provision, by law, for the distribution, among the several counties, of 
the interest thereof. 

Sec. 5. If any county shall fail to demand its proportion of such 
interest for Common School purposes, the same shall be reinvested for 
the benefit of such county. 

Sec. 6. The several counties shall be held liable for the preserva- 
tion of so much of the said fund as may be intrusted to them, and for 
the payment of the annual interest thereon. 



306 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

See. 7. All trust funds hold b}' the State shall remain inviolate, 
and be faithfully and exclusively applied to the purposes for which 
the trust was created. 

Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall provide for the election, by 
the voters of the State, of a State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, who shall hold his office for two years, and whose duties and com- 
pensation shall be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IX 

STATE INSTITUTIONS 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pro- 
vide, by law, for the support of Institutions for the Education of the 
Deaf and Dumb, and of the Blind, and also for the treatment of the 
Insane. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall provide Houses of Refuge for 
the correction and reformation of juvenile offenders. 

Sec. 3. The County Boards shall have power to provide farms as 
an asylum for those persons who, by reason of age, infirmity, or other 
misfortune, have claims upon the sympathies and aid of society. 

ARTICLE X 

I FINANCE 

Section 1. The General Assembly shall pro\ade, by law, for a 
uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation; and shall pre- 
scribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of 
all property, both real and personal, excepting such only for municipal, 
educational, literary, scientific, religious, or charitable purposes, as 
may be specially exempted by law. 

Sec. 2. All the revenues derived from the sale of any of the public 
works belonging to the State, and from the net annual income thereof, 
and any surplus that may, at any time, remain in the Treasury, 
derived from taxation for general State purposes, after the payment 
of the ordinary expenses of the government, and of the interest on 
bonds of the State, other than Bank bonds, shall be annually applied, 
under the direction of the General Assembly, to the i)ayment of the 
principal of the Public debt. 

Sec. 3. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in pur- 
suance of appropriations made by law. 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 307 

Sec. 4. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of 
the public money shall be published with the laws of each regular ses- 
sion of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 5. No law shall authorize any debt to be contracted, on 
behalf of the State, except in the following cases: To meet casual deficits 
in the revenue; to pay the interest on the State debt; to repel inva- 
sion, suppress insurrection, or, if hostiUties be threatened, provide for 
the pubhc defense. 

Sec. 6. No county shall subscribe for stock in any incorporated 
company, unless the same be paid for at the time of such subscription; 
nor shall any county loan its credit to any incorporated company, nor 
borrow money for the purpose of taking stock in any such company; 
nor shall the General Assembly ever, on behalf of the State, assume 
the debts of any county, city, town, or township, nor of any corpora- 
tion whatever. 

Sec. 7. No law or resolution shall ever be passed by the General 
Assembly of the State of Indiana that shall recognize any liabihtj- of 
this State to pay or redeem any certificate of stock issued in pursuance 
of an act entitled ''An act to provide for the funded debt of the State 
of Indiana, and for the completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal to 
Evans\'ille," passed January 19, 1846; and an act supplemental to 
said act, passed January 29, 1847; which by the pro\asions of the said 
acts, or either of them, shall be payable exclusively from the proceeds 
of the canal lands, and the tolls and revenues of the canal in said 
aets mentioned; and no such certificates of stock shall ever be paid by 
this State. 

[Note. — Section 7 is an amendment agreed to by a majority of the members 
elected to each of the two houses of the General Assembly, Regular Session of 
1871, and referred to the General Assembly to be chosen at the next general 
election. Agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each house of the 
General Assembly, Special Sessions of 1872. Submitted to the electors of the 
State by an act approved [January 28, 1873. Ratified bj' a majority of the 
electors, at an election held on the 18th day of February, 1873. Declared a part 
of the Constitution by proclamation of Thomas A. Hendricks, Governor. March 
7, 1873.] 

ARTICLE XI 

CORPORATIONS 

Section 1. The General Assembly shall not have power to estab- 
lish, or incorporate, any bank or banking company, or moneyed insti- 
tution, for the purpose of issuing bills of credit, or bills payable to 



308 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

order or bearer, except under the conditions i)rescribed in this Consti- 
tution. 

Sec. 2. No bank shall be established otherwise than uniler a gen- 
eral banking law, except as provided in the fourth section of this 
article. 

Sec, 3. If the General Assembly shall enact a general banking 
law, such law shall provide for the registry and countersigning, by an 
officer of State, of all paper credit designed to be circulated as money; 
and ample collateral security, readily convertible into specie, for the 
redemption of the same in gold or silver, shall be required; which col- 
lateral security shall be under the control of the proper officer or 
officers of State. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly may also charter a bank with 
branches, without collateral security as required in the preceding 
section. 

Sec. 5. If the General Assembly shall establish a bank with 
branches, the branches shall be mutually responsible for each other's 
Habilities upon all paper credit issued as money. 

Sec. 6. The stockholders in every bank, or banking company, 
shall be individually responsible, to an amount, over and above their 
stock, equal to their respective shares of stock, for all debts or habili- 
ties of said bank or banking company. 

Sec. 7. All bills or notes issued as money shall be, at all times, 
redeemable in gold or silver, and no law^ shall be passed, sanctioning, - 
directly or indirectly, the suspension by anj- bank or banking com- 
pany, of specie payments. 

Sec. 8. Holders of bank notes shall be entitled, in case of insol- 
vency, to preference of payment over all other creditors. 

Sec. 9. No bank shall receive, directly or indirectly, a greater 
rate of interest than shall be allowed by law, to individuals loaning 
money. 

Sec. 10. Every bank or banking company shall be required to 
cease all banking operations, within twenty years from the time of its 
organization, and promptly thereafter to close its business. 

Sec. 11. The General Assembly is not prohibited from investing 
the Trust Funds in a bank with branches, but in case of such invest- 
ment, the safety of the same shall be guaranteed by unquestionable 
security. 

Sec. 12. The State shall not be a stockholder in any bank, after 
the expiration of the present bank charter; nor shall the credit of the 
State ever be given, or loaned, in aid of any person, association, or cor- 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 309 

poration; nor shall the State hereafter become a stockholder in any 
corporation or association. 

Sec. 13. Corporations, other than banking, shall not be created 
by special act, but may be formed under general laws. 

Sec. 14. Dues from corporations, other than banking, shall be 
secured by such individual Hability of the corporations, or other 
means, as may be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE XII 



Section 1. The miHtia shall consist of all able-bodied white male 
persons between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such 
as may be exempted by the laws of the United States, or of this State; 
and shall be organized, officered, armed, equipped, and trained in .such 
manner as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 2. TheGovernorshallappointthe Adjutant, Quartermaster, 
and Commissary Generals. 

Sec. 3. All militia officers shall be commissioned by the Governor, 
and shall hold their offices not longer than six years. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall determine the method of 
dividing the miHtia into divisions, brigades, regiments, battafions and 
companies, and fix the rank of all staff officers. 

Sec. 5. The mihtia may be divided into classes of sedentary and 
active militia, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 6. No person conscientiously opposed to bearing arms, shall 
be compelled to do militia duty; but such person shall pay an equiva- 
lent for exemption, the amount to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE XIII 

POLITICAL AND MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS 

Section 1. No political or municipal corporation in this State 
shall ever become indebted, in any manner, or for any purpose, to any 
amount, in the aggregate exceeding two per centum on the value of 
taxable property, within such corporation, to be ascertained by the 
last assessment for State and county taxes, previous to the incurring 
of such indebt(Hlness; and all bonds or obligations, in excess of such 
amount, given by such corporations, shall be void; Provided, That in 
time of war, foreign invasion, or other great i)ublic calamity, on peti- 
tion of a majority of the property owners, in number and value, within 



310 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

the limits of such corporation, the public authorities, in their discre- 
tion, may incur obligations necessary for the public protection 
and defense, to such an amount as may be requested in such petition. 
(Amendment adopted March 14, 1881, and inserted in lieu of the 
original Article 13, which was stricken out.) 

ARTICLE XIV 

BOUNDARIES 

Section 1. In order that the boundaries of the State may be 
known and established, it is hereby ordained and declared, that the 
State of Indiana is bounded on the east by the meridian line, which 
forms the western boundary of the State of Ohio; on the south by the 
Ohio River, from the mouth of the Great Miami River to the mouth 
of the Wabash River; on the west by a Hne drawn along the middle of 
the Wabash River, from its mouth to a point where a due north line, 
drawn from the town of Vincennes, would last touch the northwestern 
shore of said Wabash River; and thence by a due north line, until the 
same shall intersect an east and west line, drawn through a point ten 
miles north of the southern extreme of Lake Mi(?higan; on the north 
by said east and west line, until the same shall intersect the first-men- 
tioned meridian hne, which forms the western boundary of the State 
of Ohio. 

Sec. 2. The State of Indiana shall possess jurisdiction and sover- 
eignty co-extensive with the boundaries declared in the preceding 
section; and shall have concurrent jurisdiction, in ci\dl and criminal 
cases, with the State of Kentucky on the Ohio River, and with the 
State of IlHnois on the Wabash River, so far as said rivers form the 
common boundary between this State and said States respectively. 

ARTICLE XV 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Section 1. All officers whose appointments are not otherwise pro- 
vided for in this Constitution, shall be chosen in such manner as now 
s, or hereafter may be, prescribed by law. ^ * 

Sec. 2. When the duration of any office is not provided for by 
this Constitution, it may be declared by law; and if not so declared, 
such office shall be held during the pleasure of the authority making 
the appointment. But the General Assembly shall not create any 
office, the tenure of which shall be longer than four years. 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 311 

Sec. 3. Whenever it is provided in this Constitution, or an any 
law which may be hereafter passed, that any officer other than a mem- 
ber of the General Assembly shall hold his office for any given term, 
the same shall be construed to mean that such officer shall hold his 
office for such term, and until his successor shall have been elected and 
qualified. 

Sec. 4. Every person elected or appointed to any office under 
this Constitution shall, before entering on the duties thereof, take an 
oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of this State, and of 
the United States, and also an oath of office. 

Sec. 5. There shall be a Seal of State, kept by the Governor for 
official purposes, which shall be called the Seal of the State of Indiana. 

Sec. 6. All commissions shall issue in the name of the State, shall 
be signed by the Governor, sealed by the State Seal, and attested by 
the Secretary of State. 

Sec. 7. No county shall be reduced to an area less than four hun- 
dred square miles; nor shall any county under that area be further 
reduced. 

Sec. 8. No lottery shall be authorized, nor shall the sale of lottery 
tickets be allowed. 

Sec. 9. The following grounds owned by the State in IndianapoHs, 
namely, the State House Square, the Governor's Circle, and so much 
of outlot numbered one hundred and forty-seven as lies north of the 
arm of the Central Canal, shall not be sold or leased. 

Sec. 10. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide 
for the permanent inclosure and preservation of the Tijipecanoe 
Battle Ground. 

ARTICLE XVI 

AMENDMENTS 

Section 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution 
may be proposed in either branch of the General Assembly; and if the 
same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each 
of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall, 
with the yeas and nays thereon, be entered on their journals, and 
referred to the General Assembly to be chosen at the next general 
election; and, if in the General Assembly so next chosen, such pro- 
posed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority 
of all members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the 
General Assembly to submit such amendment or amendments to the 



312 CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 

electors of the State; and if a majority of said electors shall ratify tlie 
same, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of this 
Constitution. 

Sec. 2. If two or more amendments shall be submitted at the 
same time, they shall be submitted in such manner that the electors 
shall vote for or against each of such amendments separately; and 
while an amendment or amendments which shall have been agreed 
upon by one General Assembly shall be awaiting the action of a suc- 
ceeding General Assembly, or of the electors, no additional amend- 
ment or amendments shall be proposed. 

Done in Convention, at Indianapolis, the tenth day of February, 
n the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one; and 
of the independence of the United States, the seventy-fifth. 

GEORGE WHITFIELD CARR, 

President and Delegate from the County of Lawrence. 
Attest : 

Wm. H. English, 

Principal Secretary. 

The original sections which have been changed by amenduKnit 
reads as follows: 

ARTICLE II 

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTION 

Section 2. In all elections, not otherwise provided for by this 
Constitution, every white male citizen of the United States, of the age 
of twenty-one years and upwards, who shall have resided in the State 
during the six months immediately preceding such election; and every 
white male of foreign birth of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, 
who shall have resided in the United States one year, and shall have 
resided in this State during the six months immediately preceding 
such election, and shall have declared hisintention to become a citizen 
of the I'nited States, conformably to the laws of the I'nited States on 
the subject of naturahzation, shall be entitled to vote in the townshij) 
or ])recinct where he may reside. 

Sec. 5. No negro or mylatto shall luive the right of suffrage. 

Sec. 14. All general elections shall be held on the second Tues- 
day in October. 



CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA 313 

ARTICLE IV 

LEGISLATIVE 

Section 4. The General Assembly shall, at its second session after 
the adoption of this Constitution and every six years thereafter, cause 
an enumeration to be made of all the white male inhabitants over the 
age of twenty-one years. 

Sec. 5. The number of Senators and Representatives shall, at the 
session next following each period of making such enumeration, be 
fixed by law and apportioned among the several counties, according to 
the number of white male inhabitants, above twenty-one years of age, 
in each: Provided, That the first and second elections of members of 
the General Assembly, under this Constitution, shall be acording to 
the apportionment last made by the General Assembly, before the 
adoption of this Constitution. 

Sec. 22. In relation to fees or salaries. 

ARTICLE VII 

JUDICIAL 

Section 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a 
Supreme Court, in Circuit Courts, and in such inferior courts as the 
General Assembly may establish. 

ARTICLE XIII 

NEGROES AND MULATTOES 

Section 1. No negro or mulatto shall come into, or settle in, the 
State, after the adoption of this Constitution. 

Sec. 2. All contracts made with any negro or mulatto coming into 
the State, contrary to the provisions of the foregoing section, shall be 
void; and any person who shall employ such negro or mulatto, or 
otherwise encourage him to remain in the State, shall be fined in any 
sum not less than ten dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars. 

Sec. 3. All fines which may be collected for a violation of the pro- 
visions of this article, or of any law which may hereafter be passed for 
the i)urpose of carrying the same into execution, shall be set apart and 
api)ropriatod for the colonization of such negroes and mulattoes, and 
their descendants as may l)e in (he State at the adoption of tliis Con- 
stitution, and may be willing to emigrate. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly hall pass laws to carry out the 
Drovisions of this article. 



TOPICAL INDEX 



Abbott. Lieut. Gov., 43 

Bowman, Raid of, 56 

British, The, 40-48 

Recapture Vincennes, 49 
Surrender Vincennes, 53 

Buffalo, Coming of, 17 

Burr, Aaron, 90 

Byrd, Raid of, 56 

Capital, The, 160 

Congress donates land for, 160 

Indianapolis selected, 162 

Naming of, 163 
Clark, George Rogers, 45, 53, 58 

Clark's plans, 46 

Marches on Kaskaskia, 47 

Sets out for Vincennes, 50 

Clark's letter, 52 

Captures Vincennes, 53 

In command, 56 

Honorably discharged, 58 

Campaign of 1785, 60 

Last days of, 62 
Convention, Constitutional: 

Congress grants permission. 123 

Delegates to, 123 
Constitution, The, 124 
Convention of 1850, 188 
County Supt., The, 198 
Currency, 184 

Detroit taken. 105 

Early Settlements, 37 

Dates of. 38 
Educational Institutions: 

Vincennes, 202 

Indiana, 205 

Purdue, 205 

State Normal, 209 

Hanover College, 209 

Wabash College. 210 



Educational Institutions: 

Franklin College, 210 

Notre Dame, 214 

St. Meinrad's, 217 

Oldenburg, 217 

Rose Polytechnic, 218 

Other Colleges. 218 

Valparaiso, 221 

Independent Normals, 222 
Eggleston, Edward, 281 
Electric lines, 265 
Explorers, The, 28 

Forts : 

French, 37 

Ouiatanon, 39 

Miamis, 39 

Government of, 39 

Harrison, Attack on, 103 
Flat boats, 132 
French and Indian War, 41 
Frontier History, 5.5-56 

Hamtramck, Major John, 74 
Harmar. Expedition of. 75 
Harrison, Wm. Henry, 84, 85, 99-105 
Harrison, Pres., 265 
Hines, Raid of, 240 
Hobbs, Barnabas, 154 
Hoosier, 277 

Indians, 44, 48, 59, 75, 105 
Name and origin. 15 
Of Indiana. 17 
Manner of life. 20 
Weapons of, 20 
Mode of travel. 21 
Dress, 21 

Family and rcarint? of cliildren, 23 
Traits of, 23 
Marriage customs, 22 
Housekeeping. 22 
Religious beliefs, 24 



315 



316 



THE STORY OF INDIANA 



Indians: 

Dances, 24 

Games, 25 

Burial customs. 26 

Number of, 27 

Indians and Christianity, 31 

Illinois Indians, 35 

Hostility to pioneers, 55 
Indiana, 83 

Immigration to, 83 

Territory of, 84 

Territorial Government of, 85 

Interests of, 85 

Division of, 89 

Becomes a State, 116 

Capital changed to Corydon, 117 

During the Civil War, 225 

Jefferson's Plan, 67 
Jennings, Jonathan, 112 
Joliet, Louis, 32 

Kaskaskia, 47 
March on, 47 
Taken by Clark, 47 



Mississinewa, Expedition, 105 
Morgan, Raid of: 

Plans for, 239 

Reaches Ohio, 241 

At Corydon, 245 

At Salem, 246 

Begins Retreat, 246 

At Vernon. 250 

At Dupont and Versailles, 250 

Surrender of, 251 
Morton, Oliver, 226 

Speech of, 229 

War policy of, 234 

Our debt to, 261 
Mound builders, 15 

Life of, 17 

National Road, The, 173 
Newburg, Raid on, 239 
Northwest Territory, 64 

Gained by United States, 64 

Jefferson's Plan, 67 

Government of, 69 

Compact with original states, 70 

Area of, 73 



La Salle, Robt. Cavelier: 

First Expedition, 29 

Second Expedition, 29 

Last Expedition, 35 
Legislature : 

Of 1813, 116 

Meets at Corydon, 119 
Lincoln, 230 
Log Cabin, The, 136 
Logan, Colonel, 60 

Marquette, Jacques, 31 

Starts out from St. Ignace, 32 

On the Wisconsin, 32 

On the Mississippi, 33 

Among the Illinois Indians, 33 

Among the Arkansas Indians, 34 

Turns back. 34 

The return journey, 35 

Death of, 35 
ISlexican War, 186, 1S7 
Miamis, Fort, 39 
Mills. Caleb, l.')6 
Missionaries, 28 
Mission Fathers, 30 



Ordinance of 1787, 67-69 

Greatness of, 69 

Provisions of, 69 
Ouiatanon, Fort, 39 

Painted Rocks, 34 

Pigeon Roost, Massacre of, 100 

Pioneer life, 129 

Perils encountered by settlers. 130 

Encounters with Indians, 130 

Food supply, 140 

Planting and caring for crops, 142 

Cutting and threshing grain, 142 

Our debt to, 146 
Pontiac. War of, 41 

Makes peace, 42 
Posey. Thomas, Governor, 118 
Prophet, The. 99 

Quakers, The, 114 

Railroads, 169. 265.- . 
Randolph, Thoma?*, 1,12 . 
Riley, James Whltcorab, 28i 



TOPICAL INDEX 



317 



Schools. 148 
Early, 148 
Of Indiana, 196 
Present school system, 201 

Scott, Brig. (Jeneral. 76 

Secret Societies, 237 

Seminaries, County, 158 

Settlers, 55 

Slavery in Indiana: 

The French and slavery, 106 
The English and slavery, 106 
Americans and slavery, 106 
Attitude of early settlers, 107 
Reference to in treaties, 107 
Recognition by government, 108 
Territorial government and slav- 
ery, 109 
Anti-Slavery sentiment. 111 

St. Clair, Arthur: 

Becomes Governor, 74 
Arrives at Vincennes, 74 
Expedition of, 76 

Stage Coach. The, 177 

Tecumseh, 90 
Texas, 185 



Thompson. Maurice, 283 

Tippecanoe, Battle of, 95 

Traders, French, 28 

Treaty of Peace with England, 57 

Treaty with Indians: 
Time set for, 58 
Opposition to. 58 
Treaty of Greenville, 80 

Underground Railway, The, 114 

Vigo, Francis, 50 

Vincennes : 

Established. 38 
Taken by Clark. 47 
Recaptured by British, 49 
Retaken by Clark, 53 
Garrison established at, 61 
Hamtramck put in command, 74 
St. Clair arrives, 74 

Wabash Route, The, 37 
Wallace, Lew. 282 
Wayne, Anthony, 77 
Wilkinson, Brig General, 76 



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